


To Stop an Extinction

by CheesyOne



Category: Pikmin (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Drama, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Minor Alph/Brittany, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pikmin Death, Post Pikmin 3, Wilderness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-09-11 15:44:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 36,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8997004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheesyOne/pseuds/CheesyOne
Summary: Following the departure of Olimar and Charlie and his crew, things on PNF-404 have taken a turn for the worse. After receiving a letter from Alph, Olimar learns that the Pikmin are teetering on the brink of extinction due to unknown causes. Maybe it's time to return to the Planet of the Pikmin to find out what has been going on during their absence...





	1. Unsettling News

After a particularly long and draining delivery through space, Captain Olimar, now approximately six hours away from Hocotate, was looking forward to taking some time off and being with his family again. Homesickness had settled in on him weeks ago, but the sight of his planet, just a tiny red speck in the distance at the moment, was enough to bring his mood back up. Little did he suspect that a single email from an old friend would bring it crashing down it again.

He sat there at his desk, restlessly tapping its metal surface as he poured over the contents of the message for what was likely the fifth time since he received it several minutes ago. Beside him, a rapidly cooling cup of coffee he bought at an interplanetary rest stop sat forgotten, his mind too busy tearing away at the news on his computer screen to worry about anything else.

_Greetings, Captain Olimar! I hope you're doing well! It's me, Alph. I'm one of the Koppaites you met on PNF-404 a year ago, remember? Now, you're probably wondering why I'm contacting you out of the blue like this. Well... About an hour ago, a friend of mine shared some pretty worrying information with me and I think it's only right that you should know about it. I think it'd be easier to explain if I started from the beginning. I'll try to be brief._

_After we returned to Koppai, all focus went into cultivating the seeds we brought back. It took some time for the plants to grow, but thanks to the sheer size of most of the fruit, Koppai's hunger crisis was stopped dead in its tracks. My crew and I were considered as something as heroes to the public, and to be honest, the attention was kind_ _of_ _overwhelming at first. But things soon settled down and life slowly started to return to normal. After our entire race almost faced starvation, I'm sure we've all learned our lesson about 'over consumption' and the importance to 'plan ahead', so I'm sure nothing like this will ever happen again._

_Probably._

_...Hopefully._

_Moving on... Now that we have a stable food source, we've been able to turn our attention to other things. The variety of creatures and plant life found on PNF-404 has made quite a splash in the scientific community here. The Pikmin in particular became quite a hot topic. Their role in helping us secure food didn't go unnoticed, and in general they're really fascinating creatures._

_It also helps that they're really cute._

_A few months ago, some_ _observational_ _pods_ _were launched to, well, observe life on PNF-404. A lot of experts on animal, plant, and extraterrestrial life have been assigned to view the data the ships send back. My friend, Brittany (You've met her), was chosen to be a part of this project thanks to her knowledge of plants and actually having first hand experience. I would have liked to be a part of it, mostly to see how the Pikmin were doing, but I'm admittedly not that knowledgeable about life sciences. Brittany promised she'd sneak me some information once the ships reached PNF-404's orbit._

_After they did, it took some time to actually find any traces of the Pikmin. It was almost as if they had completely vanished off the face of the planet since our departure. The pods themselves only had about a month's worth of energy before they deactivated, so as time passed, the grimmer things began to look. It was only on the final day of the pod's life expectancy that we managed to find something. What we found was in no way comforting._

_I received the picture just a few hours ago. Unlike most of the others that were sent to me-they were usually of the surface- this one was a picture of the planet's orbit. And in that picture, there it was. A Red Onion. But... it looked as if something had damaged it. I included the picture in this email so you can take a look for yourself. Not a very pretty sight, though._

_Seeing the damaged Onion combined with the fact the Pikmin have almost entirely disappeared... I don't think it's very far-fetched to say something big has happened during our absence. What exactly, we don't know, but... I feel that we, as Koppaites, owe a lot, maybe everything, to them. They saved our race from extinction, so... Wouldn't it only be right to return the favor? Right now, I'm going to see if we can plan a return trip to PNF-404._ _I don't know what you plan to do with this information, if anything, but given your connection with them, I thought it only right for you to know about this._ _If we can get the clearance to go back, then you're more than welcome to join us if you choose._

_...I've got a very bad feeling about all of this, though._

_-Alph_

Olimar sighed as he finished reading it again, memories of the little creatures filling his head. The ones he owed his very life to. Hearing that news... Of course he couldn't just ignore it.

He clicked on the file that came attached to the email, bringing up a picture of PNF-404 taken from its orbit. In the middle of the photo, situated right between the black sea of stars and the round blue planet sat a red, bulb-like object. He recognized it as on Onion, of course, but only just barely. Most of the white petals that made up its crest were torn up. One of the black chutes that expelled the blue flames that allowed the Onion to take off was missing, causing its flight to become unstable as a result. Most disturbing of all, however, was the giant gash mark on the side of it. An unsettling, crimson fluid leaked out of it, leaving behind a trail of red bubbles floating in its wake.

The sight made him shiver.

After a few more seconds of examination, Olimar finally decided he had had enough and shut down his computer. He left his desk and headed to bed, despite knowing he wouldn't be sleeping that night. He knew his worries of what happened to the Pikmin would be eating away at his mind for the remainder of his trip. Not to mention what his wife was going to say to him when he told her he was going to be leaving again so soon.


	2. Impact

_Day_ _1-_

_Today marks the beginning of my fourth trip to the Planet of the Pikmin, or to PNF-404 as the Koppaites call it. After a brief rendezvous on Hocotate, we decided to set off together with both of our ships. Some time ago, a search party was sent out to PNF-404, primarily to recover Louie, my old co-worker. It ended in failure, the only thing being recovered in the end was the broken down remains of my ship. Despite laying in a wrecked heap in the middle of a swamp for several months, the ship was able to be fixed up to the point of being space-worthy again. It now looks even shoddier than ever._

_Logic should tell me that Louie likely didn't make it, especially considering our suits only have thirty days worth of air. But somehow, I can't shake the feeling he's still alive. He's, well, Louie after all._

_Still, with my absence of a partner, Captain Charlie suggested that I take along one of his crew members. At first, he insisted on having Alph go with me, but Brittany ended up quickly volunteering instead. After splitting some of their fruit rations with us (Brittany seemed very pleased with the thought of having them to herself) we began our month long journey._

_Yes, yet another long voyage waits ahead of me, even though my body is still drained from the previous one. At least I have some company again. Compared to Louie,_ _Brittany_ _is a lot more talkative, so it's a bit of a change. I don't know much else about her, aside from the fact she_ _seems very unimpressed with the_ _of_ _state my ship. I don't blame her. I'm constantly finding myself unimpressed with it too._

_-Olimar_

_Day 3-_

_Every now and then, I spot Brittany chatting away on that device of hers, a KopPad I believe it was called. She must be talking with her crewmates since we're in such close proximity to their ship. If only there was a way to speak to my family from way out here. I get emails every now and then, but written words could never take the place of actually seeing and talking to them._

_-Olimar_

_Day 5-_

_I've come to find that Captain Olimar is a lot more quiet and thoughtful than a certain other walking noise maker of a captain I know. I don't think I would've been able to handle an entire month being stuck with just him. Really dodged a bullet there. What's even better is that I don't have to worry about splitting my rations with anyone!  
_

_Olimar seems to have turned in for the night. These past few days, he's been rather distant, which I guess is understandable since it's apparently been awhile since he's been with his family. Still, it does make things feel... a little too quiet at times. Maybe I'll talk with Alph a little bit more tonight..._

_-Brittany_

_Day 7-_

_Ah, Hocotate Noodles. The basic staple food of all employees who find themselves at the bottom of the Hocotate Freight food chain._ _Or rather, everyone below the president._ _That cheap bland taste is one I've started to become numb to. Being a Koppaite, the notoriously fussy eaters they are, Brittany mainly keeps to her fruit, meaning I don't have to worry about all of my rations getting used up over night like I did with Louie. But now I don't have anyone to complain to about the taste. Dilemmas..._

_-Olimar_

_Day 14-_

_I believe that those noodles have finally succeeded in driving me mad. Today I tried asking Brittany if she'd share some of her fruit with me for dinner. It was a proposition doomed to fail from the very beginning, I knew, but I was desperate for real food! Ever since I asked, she's been jealously guarding her rations like a space dragon guards its treasure, glaring at me suspiciously if I get too close. I think the incident with Louie might have left some scars on her..._

_-Olimar_

_Day 22-_

_Homesickness hit me fast and hard today, coming unbidden from nowhere much like a bullet shot from the dark. It worries me to no end to think about how much of my children's life I've missed out on. My wife's birthday is in a few weeks, I've realized, yet my only gift for her is my absence. I want to be home. I want to be with my family. A pack of noodles sits beside me on my desk, but I think I'll just skip dinner tonight. I'm in no mood to eat right now._

_..._

_I closed my eyes for awhile after writing that. When I opened them again, I found that the noodles had been replaced with a glass of fruit juice._ _.._

_-Olimar_

_Day 23-_

_I went to go thank Brittany for the fruit juice last night, only to find her sick in bed with a nasty stomachache. I had a strong feeling I knew why she was ill. My suspicions were confirmed when she saw me and immediately started to complain about how awful Hocotate Noodles were. Finally, she understands my plight! After that incident, she seemed_ a little _more willing to share her food with me, though if it's out of friendship or pity I've yet to determine._

_-Olimar_

_It's a mixture of both, actually.  
_

_-Brittany_

_Day 24-_

_Memories of my time with the Pikmin filled my thoughts today. I owe them so much. If not for their kindness, I wouldn't be standing here at this very moment. How shameful do I feel that just a few days ago I was lamenting about home when the Pikmin so desperately need our help. I chose to come back. To repay them. I must remember that._

_-Olimar_

_Day 29-_

_PNF-404_ _looms ahead of us._ _Very soon_ _, we'll be preparing to land. Trepidation fills me at the thought of what we'll find there. Or... of what we won't find. No, I can't let that distract me now! I must be attentive now more than ever. With the potential absence of the Pikmin, we can't afford another crash landing. All right, time to run some more system checks..._

_...I hope they're_ _okay_ _._

With the ship running just fine and with nothing else to do until they received word from the S.S. Drake, Olimar had taken to reading the logs they had left over the the month to take his mind off of things. Behind him, Brittany sat in the co-pilot's seat, idly waiting for orders.

"Well, Captain Olimar," he heard Charlie's voice crackle through the radio, "it looks like we'll be getting ready to land shortly. Is everything looking good on your end?"

"I haven't noticed any irregularities, however with what happened last time..." he trailed off. After hearing of the Drake's near disaster combined with the fact that he's had his own share of problems landing on the planet, the past few days had been stressful ones for everyone.

"Yeah. We'll need to be on top of things this time," Charlie went on. "Even though we'd cover less ground, I'd recommend we first try and land in the same area. At the moment, Alph is working on finding a good landing spot. Once he does, I'll have him send the coordinates over to you."

"Right. I'll see you there."

"Err, and by the way..." Charlie said before Olimar could cut off the transmission. "Have you been able to fix that broken communicator? I still haven't been able to get through to Brittany."

"Oh, well..." The truth was that Olimar had checked on it several times, only to find it working just fine. The only explanation he could come up with was that it wasn't broken at all. Brittany was just ignoring his calls. "No, I haven't."

"I see..." Charlie responded, sounding noticeably disappointed. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter now. We'll all be meeting up soon enough, anyway. I'll leave you to it, then." The transmission fizzled out.

A light lit up on his dashboard soon after, signaling he had just received a message. _Seems like Alph has everything figured out already._ "Brittany, we're going to start preparing the landing sequence now." He spoke over the ship's radio. "I'll take care of everything up here. All I need you to do is keep a close eye on the ship's status. If you see anything wrong, tell me immediately."

"Got it." After a thoughtful pause, she continued, "Y'know... When we crashed last time, Alph was convinced it was something from the planet's surface that caused the Drake to go haywire. Like, some sort of force that pulled us in, but different from the usual gravitational pull. You don't think we'll run into that again, do you?"

He could tell she was worried. "I didn't experience any problems last time, so I can't say for certain. We'll be careful, though."

The ship rattled unsteadily as they entered the planet's orbit, though as far as Olimar was concerned, that was completely normal. While it certainly did no favors to anyone's peace of mind, the fact that rusty hunk of metal could still withstand long trips through space was _almost_ impressive to him. He'd do anything to have his old ship back, but sometimes he had to give credit where credit was due.

The Drake flew on ahead of them, it's flight smooth and unhindered. _Seems like everything's going fine on their end._ "How are we doing?" Olimar asked, tilting his head towards Brittany.

"Everything seems fine... Wait." Brittany peered around him. "Is there something wrong with the Drake?"

"What?" He looked back at the Drake only to find it wobbling precariously. Alarmed, Olimar tried to contact them to find out what was wrong when his ship gave a violent lurch of its own, nearly tossing him out of his seat. In an instant, numerous buzzes and beeps sounded off as his computer monitor filled with red error messages.

"Okay, Olimar!" Brittany's panicked voice rose over the noise, "Something's wrong! Something's _definitely_ wrong!"

 _I'm aware!_ Grunting, he grabbed the steering wheel and tried to regain control of the ship, only to find it unresponsive.

The ship continued its mad descent into the planet's atmosphere, and, to his dismay, nothing but blue waited for them below. He pulled hard on the wheel once more, this time managing to alter their course towards a green mass of land to their right. "We're going to have to make a crash landing, so hang on!"

The only response he got was a resigned sigh.

* * *

Exploration Day 1- 9:43 A.M.

It was only a matter of seconds before land was in their sights. Clouds gave way to a crowded forest of trees that, while thin, were impossible to avoid. The ship scraped roughly against one with enough force to knock Olimar out of his cockpit. He floundered helplessly in the air for a moment plummeting through the leaves, occasionally letting out a small 'Oof!' when he bounced off of a branch.

Green, plant-covered ground soon came into sight below him. Sighing, he placed his hands over his helmet, covering his eyes, expecting a not so pleasant landing. When he did land, though, the ground proved to be very squishy and soft, much to his surprise. He opened his eyes, discovering that he had been lucky enough to fall onto a bed of moss. He carefully pushed himself up, wary that the long drop actually had injured him, but aside from a few bumps and bruises, he didn't feel like anything was broken. _Looks like we managed to survive the landing. Wait..._ We _?_ It dawned on him then. _Where's Brittany?_

"Brittany! Are you okay?" He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled. Moments passed by, but no response came. "...Are you there?"

"aaaaaaaa-"

His ears twitched when he heard a voice. It almost sounded like someone yelling from far away...

"-aaaaAAAAHH!"

Olimar barely had time to react when something landed on his back, very courteously forcing his face to become acquainted with the ground again.

"Ow ow ow..." Brittany grumbled as she slid off his life support backpack and onto the ground.

"I hope I at least broke your landing as well as you broke my back..." Olimar muttered as he got to his feet again.

"Ow... Not really. I feel like I just got punched in the gut." She sighed. "I think I would have rather landed on the moss... Are you okay?"

"I'll live. How about you?" he asked, offering her a hand.

"Well, I'm still hungry, so I guess I didn't hurt myself too bad," she said as he helped her up. "More importantly, did you see which way the ship went?"

"No idea. Falling down that tree's gotten me all disoriented. We're going to have to track it down." He turned away and finally took a good look at his surroundings.

All around them, thin, moss covered trees stretched endlessly into the sky. Sunbeams weaved through the trees like a gentle fabric. The moss almost seemed to glow a golden color in response to the light, giving the forest an enchanted feel to it. He didn't see any signs of his ship, and, outside of a few colorful flitterbies fluttering about, no signs of life either. Even if that meant there weren't any predators nearby, the lack of Pikmin made him feel very vulnerable. _Just give it some more time. We'll find them._

"Olimar!" Brittany called out to him from on top of a red, spotted mushroom. "Come take a look over here. I see something!" Once he joined her, she pointed over to a large rock in the distance. "Behind that rock. Do you see that?"

He saw it right away. A trail of smoke rising into the sky. "That must be the ship. Let's go investigate." Olimar hopped off the mushroom and made his way toward the smoke trail, Brittany following right behind him.

A great gash in the earth greeted them on the other side of the rock, a still scorching trail that ended at their ship. It was knocked over on its side and smoke seemed to be pouring out from where the engine was, but otherwise it didn't look too beat up, all things considered. As they approached it, a beeping sound went off in their helmets. Brittany looked around in confusion, but Olimar only sighed, knowing what that noise meant: an upcoming lecture from his ship.

" _Brrzt!"_ Sparks flew from the nose of the ship as it attempted to contact them. " _It appears the two of you made it through the landing unharmed. What good timing. I had just finished rebooting and was about to reestablish communications with you. I have to apologize. Something seemed to have interfered with my systems, causing a temporary lock-up. Now running a system check..._

" _Alert! It appears that at some point during the fall, my engine was knocked off my hull. Without it, flight is impossible!"_

That wasn't something Olimar really wanted to hear. Just to be sure, he hurried over to the ship, only to find that it was right. After waving off the smoke, all he found was a big gap at the base where the engine should have been.

" _Yes, the engine is indeed missing, just as I said."_ If the hunk of metal had eyes, it would have likely rolled them. _"Right now, recovering the engine is your top priority. I refuse to be left behind on this bug infested planet again! Really, Olimar, I was so disappointed in you. What ever happened to going down with the ship? It's only the most common of courtesies a ship should expect from its captain!"_

Olimar huffed and crossed his arms. _Just because the captain should go down with his ship doesn't mean he should_ stay _down with it!_

" _I am detecting a hint of irritability coming from you,"_ the ship commented dryly, annoying Olimar even more.

Brittany didn't say anything throughout the exchange, but seemed very amused by it all.

" _Regardless, there isn't any time to argue. You only have until sunset to safely retrieve the engine. Olimar! Brittany! You must make haste, or we'll be trapped on the surface for the night!"_

 _And be forced to deal with all of the predators that the night brings with it..._ Nodding, Olimar looked around, trying to find a good place to start his search, and noticed an odd structure to his right. Some sort of clear, plastic container half filled with water sat leaning against a rock. Its shape vaguely reminded him of a spaceship, albeit a very large one. It was propped up at such an angle that it allowed him to walk up it and onto the rock, giving him a good vantage point. He scanned the area for any clues as to where the engine went. However, aside from tress, moss, and even more trees, he wasn't able to see anything that stood out to him. In that moment, the forest seemed bigger than ever.

"Nothing?" Brittany called from the base of the 'bottleship'.

Olimar looked down at her, shaking his head. "Nothing. Looks like we're going to need to start walking if we have any hopes of finding it before sunset."

"It's not just a matter of finding it, Olimar! Even if we do end up stumbling on it, how are we going to get it back to the ship? We can't lift that thing by ourselves!"

She brought up a good point. "I know..." He sighed and looked back out into the forest. "What do you suppose our chances of running into some Pikmin are while we're out searching?"

"I don't know, but for our sake, they better be high."


	3. The Forgotten Sanctuary

The forest was much more peaceful than what Brittany was expecting. A melodious chirping occasionally sounded from the tree tops, but they were so impossibly high up she'd never be able to see what was making the noise. Aside from that, they had yet to encounter much in terms of wildlife, even after two hours of searching for their engine. Olimar had decided to name the forest 'The Forgotten Sanctuary' on account of its lonesomeness.

She watched the sky for a moment longer before turning her attention back to her KopPad. 'No Signal' flashed mockingly on its screen, making her sigh.

"You've been trying for awhile," Olimar commented. "Just let it be. We're likely too far apart to establish a signal with them."

Though hesitant, Brittany put the device away. "I'm just worried, that's all." _Hopefully the Drake didn't toss everyone overboard again. It'd be bad news if we're_ all _stranded._

"I know. I am too," he said, "but let's focus on one thing at a time, okay?"

They continued on, eventually reaching a point where the land sloped upwards, creating a somewhat steep hill. A series of crumbling stone steps were etched into the side of it. Despite their aged and uneven appearance, they seemed a little too precisely made to have been a natural occurrence (though why anyone would want such impractically large steps was beyond her). A ray of sunlight fell on the hills flat top, casting a golden sheen on the wildflowers that sat on its crest.

While the flowers were of the supersized variety that seemed to be the norm on the planet, the sight still made Brittany hopeful. She knew the Pikmin always had a fondness for flowers, perhaps because they shared plant-like characteristics themselves. _Maybe we'll find some up there..._ She turned to Olimar, about to share her thoughts, when she realized he was eyeing the hilltop with the same hope.

"It's likely just wishful thinking on our part." Olimar told her. "But it never hurts to check."

Brittany led the way up the hill, walking alongside the stone steps. As she neared the top, she turned around, expecting to see Olimar right behind her, only to find him barely halfway up and already out of breath. Anxious to see what was ahead, she decided to go on without him. The sight that awaited her was an odd one. The colorful wildflowers grew in a ring on the edges of the hill, surrounding a patch of much smaller, wilted flowers located in the center. Their thorn covered stems were slouched over as if their petals were too heavy to lift.

She approached one and gently tilted it up to better examine it. Its pale white petals were folded inward, making it resemble a small trumpet in appearance. Though, if it were actually in bloom, she imagined it'd open up to look more like a star. Letting go of the flower, she backed away, watching it droop.

_They're about the right size for a Pikmin, but the flowers are different. It could be a new species, I guess._ Her fingers twitched as she debated whether or not to pluck it. _I really don't like how they look..._

She turned when she heard Olimar finally reach the top of the hill. He was leaning against the stem of a nearby plant, trying to catch his breath."Now, now. The hill wasn't that steep!" she teased him.

He looked up at her, unamused. "Huff... One day... You're going to be my age... And then you'll find that every hill has suddenly turned into a mountain," he said, still a little out of breath. "It doesn't help that I've been sitting in a ship for several months. That can do a number on you."

Brittany shrugged. "Maybe you just need more fruit in your diet."

"No thanks."

"Good. More for me. Anyways," she motioned over to the flowers she discovered, "what do you make of these?"

A dark shadow fell over Olimar's face when he noticed them. "Those flowers..." he murmured as he moved closer. "They look sick."

"I know. And they're the same size as Pikmin flowers, too. I was debating on plucking one to find out, but seeing their condition..." she shuddered. "I don't think I wanna know what's on the other end."

"Whether it's just a regular plant or a Pikmin, we need to know." Olimar said, carefully grabbing onto one of the thorny stems, though he seemed hesitant to pull.

_Snap!_

A twig broke behind them. Brittany felt her blood freeze at the sound. For how loud it was, she could have confused it for a whip cracking. Soon after, heavy, lumbering footsteps could be heard pounding against the hill. _Something's coming up!_

Olimar drew back from the flowers and hastily checked their surroundings. "Brittany, over there!" He pointed to a densely grown patch of clovers. "Hide!"

Brittany didn't need to be told twice. She sprinted over to the plants with Olimar following close behind and hid among their stems. Seconds after she settled herself in, a pair of all-too-familiar eye stalks appeared over the edge of the hill.

The creature's tawny snout was trained on the ground, sniffing determinedly for a scent. Its crimson hide was decorated with a white polka dot pattern, revealing it to be a red bulborb, a common yet usually nocturnal predator. Saliva dribbled from its massive jaws as it edged ever closer to them, its nose still glued to the earth.

If that thing was the predator, that made them the prey. Gulping at the realization, Brittany crouched low to the ground, trying to make herself seem as small as possible. _It didn't just follow_ us _, either. It followed our scent!_ At this rate, the bulborb was going to discover them in no time.

Silently, Olimar crawled closer to her. "It has our scent, so there's no use in hiding here."

"Are we going to run for it then?" she whispered back to him.

"You'll go first." Olimar said as he stood up. "I'll keep it distracted for a bit."

"N-Now hold a minute here!"

The bulborb cried out suddenly, and for a moment, Brittany was afraid she raised her voice too high. To her relief, it had only scraped its nose against one of the thorny plants. Using one of its hind legs, it pawed tenderly at the scratch with a whimper before searching for the cause of its pain. The moment it noticed the wilted flowers, it yelped in fear, clumsily losing its balance and falling on its rump. Pupils shrunk in terror, it scrambled to its feet and ran down the hill, not even throwing so much as a glance behind it.

With the bulborb's heavy footsteps fading away in the distance, Brittany turned her eyes back to the flowers, trying to make sense of the scene. "What was that about?"

"The flowers scared it off. But why though?" Olimar pushed his away out of the clovers to get another look at the dying plants. This time, he kept his distance. "And why was it hunting during the day in the first place?"

"Olimar? I think we should leave those flowers alone..."

"If they're sending bulborbs running for the hills, then that might be a good idea." Glancing up at the sun, now hanging high above their heads, he added, "We don't have much daylight left. Let's get going." Not waiting for an answer, Olimar started to make his way down the hill.

After the red light of his antenna disappeared from sight, Brittany cast a look back at the suspicious flowers. _All these healthy plants up here, but they're the only ones wilting. Maybe they're sick. Or maybe they're not... I guess there's no point worrying about it now. But I don't like them one bit!_ She put the thoughts behind her and trailed after Olimar.

As they went on, they discovered a thin stream winding its way through a maze of moss covered rocks. By silent agreement, they decided to rest there for a short while. The peaceful sound of bubbling water coupled with the warm sunlight made Brittany realize just how tired her feet were. _This looks like such a nice for a nap. And a snack, too._

She watched as Olimar walked along the rocky bank of the stream, his head tilted toward the trees as if searching for something. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Looking for any clues," he answered her. "The trees in this forest are very tightly packed together. I think it's likely the engine may have scraped against one the way down."

"Hmm. You might be right about that." She tried looking in the opposite direction Olimar was heading, but found her view of the trees was obscured by the piles of rocks. One tall pile in particular stuck out to her though, for at its top sat a fresh, juicy Sunseed Berry. Her stomach growled. "Now what do we have here?" she said as she moved closer.

Olimar perked up. "Did you find something?" When he realized all she found was a fruit, he frowned in annoyance. "That's not going to help us any. Why don't you try searching for any signs of the engine instead?"

Ignoring him, Brittany paced around the base of the rocks and looked for a way up. "Now how am I going to get you down from there...?" Not finding any way to safely to get up, she sighed and backed off. _Welp, time for Plan B._ "Olimar! Throw me up there!"

"I'm not throwing you anywhere!" Olimar snapped at her. "Forget about the fruit, Brittany. I need you to focus here!"

"I am focused!" She shot back before letting her gaze wander back to the Sunseed Berry. She started to drool. "Perfectly focused..."

Olimar shook his head. "On the Sunseed Berry, maybe. Now's not the time to be worrying about dinner, though. Especially considering the fact that it might be _us_ on someone's menu if we don't find that engine." He stared up at the fruit as he continued scolding her. "I _know_ it's probably going to be _really_ hard for you, but you need to do something about your uncontrollable fruit fixation or else it-" He cut himself off suddenly. "What's that behind the berry?"

Brittany followed his gaze, finding it led to a tall tree in the distance. One of its lowest branches had been snapped off, leaving behind a charred stump. "I think that's the clue you've been searching for," she told him, crossing her arms.

"Do you see that? The branch is burnt at the base. It must have been caused by the engine falling!" Olimar said, excited. "What a stroke of luck. We nearly walked on through without noticing it."

"Yeah, if it wasn't for my _uncontrollable fruit fixation_ , we probably never would have saw it."

He flinched. "All right, maybe I was being a little too harsh on you before. I apologize. Now why don't we go get our engine back?"

"I'll accept your apology. But I hope you realize I think about more than just fruit!" With that, Brittany started to follow Olimar as he crossed the stream, only to freeze when she noticed he had walked right past the Sunseed Berry. "Hey, wait! We're not just leaving that poor fruit behind, are we? Olimar? Are you listening to me?!"

* * *

Beyond the broken branch, the trunk of a great, fallen tree blocked the way forward. Long threads of moss hung over the top and trailed down its side like green curtains, nearly covering up the burrow as its base. The burrow wasn't very deep; Brittany could see the back of it even with the limited amount of light that seeped in. Between that and the piles of twigs and withered grass that lined the floor, it looked like some creature had dug it out to use as a nest.

After making sure there were no animals nearby, Olimar led the way out of the undergrowth. "Let's inspect this place quickly before whatever's living here decides to come back."

Nodding, Brittany made her way over to the burrow while Olimar kept watch for its owner. It didn't take her long to notice the shiny gleam of metal hidden under the grass and twigs. "Olimar, I found something!" she called out to him.

"Is it another piece of fruit?" Olimar asked jokingly.

"Sadly, it's not," Brittany replied seriously. "It's just the engine." She blinked when Olimar gave her a funny look. _Did I say something weird?_

"Well, er... Good job finding the engine then. Let's see if there's any way we can move it," he said as he started to walk over to her. But the moment his foot touched the ground, it started to tremble violently, causing him to lose his balance.

Brittany stumbled over to the fallen trunk and leaned on it to help keep herself steady. _What's going on? An earthquake?_ She glanced back to Olimar, her vision slightly obscured by the hanging moss. The ground was rising behind him, as if something were trying to break free. _Oh, no..._ "Olimar, get over here! Now!"

Hearing the urgency in her tone, he staggered to his feet and hurried over to her. Just as he hid himself in what little cover the moss provided, the ground erupted in a spray of pebbles and dust as a burrowing snagret broke to the surface. Shaking the dirt out its white feathers, it clicked its beak hungrily as it searched for the prey that had trespassed on its territory.

It was so close, Brittany could hear it breathing. "It's not going to find us, is it?"

"We're safe over here," Olimar reassured her. "Snagrets don't have very good eyesight."

The snagret's eyes passed over where they were hiding, but like Olimar said, it didn't seem to see them. Giving up, it stretched its beak wide in what looked like a yawn and curled up in front of its burrow, letting the azure scales on its slender body soak up the last few rays of sun before it set. Eventually, its eyes closed and its breath evened out.

A few tense minutes passed before Brittany and Olimar backed out of the moss and quietly retreated into the forest.

"I can't believe this!" Brittany shouted once the were out of the snagret's hearing range. "There's exactly two things living in this whole forest and the engine falls right on top of one of them! How are we going to get it now?"

"I don't know. Without any Pikmin, we don't have a chance of taking on a snagret," Olimar sighed. "But then again, without any Pikmin, we never had a chance of carrying back the engine in the first place."

_The Pikmin..._ Her heart panged at the mention of them. "I miss them, Olimar."

"So do I," he said quietly. He had a far off look on his face, as if he were reliving a distant memory. Eventually, he dismissed it with a shake of his head. "All we can do is hope they're out there somewhere."

Above, leaves rustled as the wind picked up. For the first time, Brittany was aware of the long shadows darkening the forest floor as night began to stake its claim over the sky. "The sun's setting. We're too far away from the ship now, though." Even if it couldn't lift off, she would have at least appreciated the shelter.

"Then we don't have a choice. We'll have to stay out here for the night."

"But where?" She turned away from him, looking for a place where they could rest. "We're pretty out in the open right here." Aside from the trees, the only interesting thing she could find was a patch of wilted flowers growing not far from them. _Wait a minute..._ "Are those the flowers we saw earlier?"

"It seems so." Olimar brought a hand to the base of his helmet in thought. "I think I might have an idea. Remember how the bulborb ran away from those flowers earlier?"

"I don't like where you're going with this..."

"Perhaps there's something about them that wards off predators. They may be able to keep us safe if we stay near them." He pointed over to the base of a tree growing near the flower patch. "We could stay in the roots of that tree over there. We won't be perfectly hidden, but it's the best option I can think of. Does that sound good to you?"

"To be honest, no." The flowers still bothered her, and she could tell Olimar didn't seem too comfortable with them either. _Anything that can scare a bulborb like that isn't something I want to be anywhere near,_ she thought nervously. _But..._ "But I can't think of a better alternative..."

Olimar sighed. "Trust me, if there was an alternative, I'd be open to it. We're not going to be safe there, so we'll have to take turns keeping lookout."

* * *

The sun had only set a few minutes ago and already Brittany felt like she'd been keeping watch for hours. The whole forest had filled with shadows, and she was certain they were closing in on her, trying to suffocate her. Feeling uneasy, she backed up into the relative safety of the two tree roots she and Olimar had taken shelter between. It cut off most of her view of the forest, save for the flower patch growing directly ahead of her, but maybe that was a good thing. _I'm just going to freak myself out trying to find out what's waiting in the dark. I'll keep out of sight. And I'll listen instead._ She trusted her ears a little more than her eyes at this point.

Behind her, Olimar had curled up in the little nook where the two roots joined with the base of the tree. _Already asleep, huh? He must have been tired. S_ he settled down against one of the roots, careful to make sure her antenna didn't stick out over the top. _I'm feeling pretty drained as well. But I don't think I could sleep even if I wanted to._

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had a nagging feeling like she was forgetting to do something. It took her a moment to remember. _Oh, right! This is around the time when we'd write out our daily reports. I guess it wouldn't hurt to type one up real quick._ She took out her KopPad and booted it up. Disappointed, she noted she hadn't received any messages from her crewmates. After another failed attempt at contacting them, she gave up and began to type out her report.

_Today marks the first day of our expedition and, surprise surprise, we're stranded! I'm getting a serious case of deja vu here. Captain Olimar and I are fine, however our ship is... not as fine. A lot of things happened today, the most important being that we were able to find the missing engine for our ship, but with no Pikmin, we don't have any chance of recovering it. The only things we can do now are hope we discover some Pikmin hiding in this forest or find a way to re-establish communications with the Drake. We haven't had much luck on either front._

_With no way to reach orbit, we're forced to camp out on the surface tonight. Since I was feeling a little too on edge (and not too mention,_ hungry _) to sleep, I decided to take first watch for the night. This place, the Forgotten Sanctuary as Olimar named it, seems to have very few animals awake during the day, so hopefully nighttime is just as quiet. I haven't caught sight of any predators skulking about yet, at least._

_Still... As I look out into the forest, it feels like there's something out there that's watching_ me _, too._

_But all I see are the flowers...  
_

_-Brittany_


	4. In Strange Company

Day 1- 9:37 a.m.

The only thing Alph saw when he opened his eyes was white. _Where am I?_ He tried to move his body, but it felt like something was weighing him down. _I think I remember the Drake having problems... And then it auto ejected us from the ship. Everything feels so numb. I guess I didn_ _'t make it..._ A sudden calmness washed over him. He let his eyelids flutter shut. _Is this what death feels like? It_ _'s peaceful._ _So still, so white, so... cold. So very cold. So, very,_ very, _cold._ His eyes shot open again. _I_ _'m freezing!_

In a heartbeat, panic replaced the calm as he struggled to stand. _I can't move. It feels like my helmet's stuck..._ Burying his hands in the soft ground, he tried pushing away as hard as he could. A crunching sound filled his ears as he felt everything shift around him until, eventually, he managed to break free with one last shove. Caught off balance, he stumbled and rolled onto his back.

Shivering, Alph pushed himself up and tried to get his bearings. Like he expected, glittering white snow coated the ground, untouched aside from the hole his helmet had been stuck in. Large piles of the stuff surrounded him in a bowl shape, making him feel like he was in a big, unfinished igloo. Some scraps of metal jutted out of the snow in some places, though nothing that was of any use to him. The sky above was dark blue, not quite the sheer black of night, and was speckled here and there with the light of a few fading stars. With relief, he realized it was close to dawn. Even after being separated from the captain and the Drake, at least he had some luck going for him.

It was hard for him to recall exactly what transpired on the Drake. One moment it was smooth sailing, and the next moment it seemed as if every one of the Drake's systems had went haywire. Before he could even register what was going on, the ship's auto-ejection system kicked in and the next thing he knew he was launched out into the stratosphere. _It must have been that strange force from before!_ he thought to himself heatedly. He thought he took the proper precautions in case they ran into it again, but it looked like it wasn't enough. _It felt even stronger this time around. Just what on the planet is causing it, though?_ The mysterious force bothered him to no end, but he knew he had more urgent matters to sort out first.

He spotted a narrow tunnel dug out in the wall of snow. After checking to make sure he didn't miss anything, Alph trudged over to it. He pulled out his KopPad along the way and sent out a signal. A frown fell on his face when no one answered. He decided to bring up his map instead, and immediately it picked up two other signals, which he could only assume belonged to the Drake and Captain Charlie given how close they were. _I should find them both here, but..._ Alph tried sending another call, this time specifically sending to to Brittany. Once again, no answer. He sighed. _But what I really want to know is what happened to Brittany and Captain Olimar. I hope they made it through okay._

Silvery light filled his vision as he approached the end of the short tunnel. With a shake of his head, Alph made note of the direction the signal closest to him was coming from then put away his KopPad. _Hopefully it's the Drake. I ought to be able to send out a stronger signal from there._

A biting wind greeted him as soon as he stepped outside. He shuddered as it pierced through his space suit. _Ugh. Whatever happened to quality? I think I'll need to start buying my suits from a different store._ He now wished it was the Drake that was closest to him more than ever. _Just think of how nice and warm it'll be in there,_ he thought wistfully as he started to walk. Two walls of snow stood tall on either side of him, rising with the gentle slope of the land, leaving him nowhere to go but straight.

Once he reached the top of the slope, he realized it ended with a near vertical drop off. From that point, though, he was able to get a look at what kind place he had landed himself into this time. Not far below in the distance lay a great lake frozen over with a layer of bluish-white ice. On the land surrounding it, he was able to see the dark entrances of many caves peppering the snow. Some flowers and tall blades of grass stuck out here and there, all completely covered in a layer of frost, making them appear as if they were delicate ice sculptures. _That's where I need to go. But first I need to find a way down..._

Directly below him he noticed a series of icy pathways zigzagging back and forth on the sheer side of the slope. He thought he glimpsed something red walking along one, but before he could identify it, the snow behind him erupted.

Alph turned, only to find a arctic cannon larva towering over him. It fixed it's purple eyes on him for a moment before it started to suck in air.

Alph's shoulders slumped. "Please don't."

It spat out a giant snowball that swallowed Alph up before he even had a chance to scream.

The snowball bumped and rolled down the hill, spinning so fast that Alph thought he was going to be sick. Occasionally, he felt weightless as the snowball bounced into the air, and at one point, he swore he heard a 'squeak' when it landed.

Finally, after what felt like ages, it collided with a rock and shattered into pieces.

Alph dizzily pushed himself up, feeling as if someone had just tossed him into a washing machine and left the setting on heavy duty. Shaking the snow off his helmet, he glared at the arctic cannon larva, now a green speck on the hill. "Are you happy now?!"

A muffled squeal caught his attention. _Huh? Did something get trapped with me?_ He noticed a pile of snow shift in front of him and a red stem ending in a glowing green leaf pushed its way through.

 _That's a Pikmin stem!_ He couldn't believe his luck. Not even bothering to get up, Alph crawled over and pulled on it. The snow parted, and soon enough he was met with a very familiar face. Yes, it was one creature he'd never forget. The slightly pointed nose, the red body, the white polka dots, the... the...

Why was he holding a tiny bulborb.

His wide eyes met the little bulborb's confused ones for a moment. Then wordlessly, he pushed the Bulborb down and packed some snow on top of it, so only the stem was sticking out, just the way he had found it. Once he was done, he stood up and brushed himself off.

"Well, I'm going to go find that hole I made when I crashed here," Alph announced to no one in particular. "...I think I need to lay in it for awhile."

Before he could go do that, though, the bulborb-Pikmin hybrid broke out of its snowy confinement. Blinking the flakes out of its eyes, it spotted Alph and began to stumble over to him.

"Woah, w-wait a minute! What are you? Are you a Pikmin?" he asked it, holding his hands out in front of him to keep it at bay. "Are you a bulborb?"

The creature paused to sniff at his hands before pressing its snout against them affectionately.

Alph blinked. "Are... Are you friendly?" He brought his hand up to its snout and stroked it, smiling as it let out a happy chirp. "I didn't know bulborbs could be friendly. That _is_ what you are, right?"

It didn't answer of course, and instead stared at him with adoring eyes.

The sight made his heart melt. "Well, whatever you are, would you like to come with me?" He backed away and motioned for it to follow him, which it did eagerly.

Feeling very creative, he decided to call the creature a 'bulbmin'.

* * *

With his new friend in tow, Alph wandered around the shore of the frozen lagoon. He saw an orange bulborb napping outside an entrance to a tunnel and steered well clear of it.

"All right, Dottie. If you see danger, like that bulborb over there, the best thing to do is to stay far away, especially if you're alone," Alph told the bulbmin. He didn't know why, but he felt responsible for her education. "There's point in picking a fight you can't win. Do you got that?"

Dottie nodded sagely, even though she had no clue what he said.

"Good. And furthermore- Ow!" Alph cried as he bumped into something. It was a towering, cane-like object colored with alternating stripes of red and white. He absently made note of it as a landmark."And furthermore... Where are we going?"

Dottie stared at him.

"Oh, you're right! I have a map. Let's see here..." To his surprise, one of the signals was just a few minutes northwest of him. He turned to the bulbmin. "Ignoring the crash, things have been going good so far! Let's hope our luck continues!"

Their luck didn't continue. He found his destination soon enough in the form of an icy cave. The only problem was that its only entrance was blocked by a big snowball.

Alph tried to see if he could sneak in through the gap between the snowball and the entrance of the cave, but all he could manage to do was stick his arm through. "I'm sure the signal is coming from inside... How am I going to get in though?" He scraped away at the ball of snow to try and widen the gap a bit. He was only able to peel away a thin layer of frost before his hands met with a solid red surface. _Now what's this? Looks organic._ No way he was going to dig through that.

There was only one other option then. Alph pressed his hands against it and started to push. "Huff... Dottie, could you help me out?"

The bulbmin hurried to his side and pressed her head to it.

Together, they pushed with all their might, but the snowball refused to budge. Alph eventually slipped and fell flat on his face, and Dottie backed away from it, whimpering and rubbing her head with her stem.

"Oh no... Did you get brain freeze? I'm sorry." Alph went over and patted her on the nose. "It doesn't look like we'll be able to budge that thing by ourselves." He turned to her. "You wouldn't happen to have any friends, would you?"

Dottie slowly tilted her head.

* * *

Where one came from, surely there had to be more waiting. That's what Alph thought as he retraced his steps back to where he found Dottie. He vaguely recalled seeing something red wandering on the side of the hill before his encounter with that rude arctic cannon larva. From the looks of it now though, it seemed that whatever it was had moved on.

 _It'd take too long for me to make it all the way back there, anyway._ A ripple of unease flowed through him, somehow feeling almost as cold as the wind. _And when night falls, this place is only going to get colder. Forget about the predators, I'll probably freeze if I don't find a way back to the Drake!_ Alph quickly turned away, ready to search elsewhere for help, when he noticed his bulbmin friend was no where to be found. A pair of tiny footprints gave away where she went, leading straight to a large chunk of ice.

He found her snooping around behind it. She had her nose to the ground, not noticing his approach. Alph marched up to her and picked her up by the stem. "There you are!" Dottie squirmed around, squeaking in protest. "What were you doing out here? You shouldn't be wandering by your-"

_**Rrraargh!** _

An enraged roar blared from straight ahead, reverberating off the ice. Alph dropped Dottie in shock. Ahead, a bulbmin, much, much bigger than Dottie, burst from the snow, pouncing on unaware amprat. It bit down hard on its midsection, eliciting a cry of pain from the white furred creature. The amprat did not plan to go down easily, though. It struggled out of its grasp and limped back from it, bearing its fangs as electricity flowed through its fur.

As their skirmish continued, Alph noticed an army of footprints marching to the snow bank the bulbmin had been waiting in. Hiding in the white fluff, he could see even more bulbmin around Dottie's size watching their mother hunt. Alph's gaze flickered back and forth between them and their mother as she wrestled with the amprat. He felt guilty for what he was about to do, but if he wanted to get to his ship, he had no other choice.

He hurried over to the young bulbmin while their mother was still busy. In perfect unison, their stalky eyes all shifted to him, then to their missing sibling. He whistled softly and beckoned them to follow, hoping Dottie's presence would make it easier to gain their trust.

They plodded over to him with no hesitation and with a lot of curiosity. The bulbmin were too young to understand danger, it seemed. Alph found himself swarmed in seconds. He stumbled back, nearly tripping over one of them as they sniffed and poked and prodded. One even jumped up and licked his helmet! Sighing, Alph tried wiping the saliva off, but only succeeded in smearing it around, blurring his vision even more. "Gross." He felt like he was dealing with a pack of puppies. "Okay, calm down guys. We need to hurry and get out of here before your mother notices I'm stealing you." And now he felt like a kidnapper. He just sighed again and silently motioned for the group to follow him. 

Alph managed to slip away with the bulbmin unseen. They fell in line behind him much like a squad of Pikmin. Altogether, Alph counted twelve of them. He felt confident enough they could move the blockage for him.

When he reached the icy cave again, Alph directed the bulbmin over to the red and white ball and ordered them to push. Dottie went first, pressing her head against it like before, and the rest followed her example. With all of them working together, they managed to finally move the ball, rolling it further into the cave. Alph trailed behind excitedly.

The cave opened up after a few seconds of pushing. Stepping around the working bulbmin, Alph quickly spotted his beloved Drake resting under a pillar of light, slightly scratched up, but still standing. He couldn't have been happier.

He walked up to it, assessing all of the new dings and bumps it had received. The sight of each hurt a bit, but it was much better than having no ship at all. _Oh, all the things this planet's put you through..._

The little grunts of the bulbmin broke him out of his thoughts. They were still pushing the ball, which had now lost most of it's snow, revealing it to be a red, bulb-shaped... vegetable?! Alph blanched at the sight of how big it was. And they were bringing it right to his ship.

Alph ran to the side opposite of them and tried to stop the ball. "No, no! It's okay!" he cried. "I don't want this _thing_ anywhere near my ship! _You can stop pushing now_." The bulbmin didn't seem to hear him over the vegetable. And sadly, twelve against one was a battle doomed to fail. Once it got in range, the Drake absorbed it in a beam of light.

The bulbmin all hopped and cheered happily while Alph groaned. _If anything, I guess I can just give it to Captain Olimar. He likes those things, doesn't he?_ He stared up at his ship, shivering from the cold. His fingers and toes went numb on him on long time ago. _I don't think I have anything important left to do here. Maybe I should call it a day._ Just thinking about how toasty it would be on the Drake warmed him up a little. He started to space out as more pleasant thoughts filled his head. _After I send out a signal for Brittany, I'll heat myself up a glass of juice, gather up all the blankets I can find, and head to bed..._

_Crunch. Crunch. Crunch._

Heavy feet crushed the snow just outside the cave. A distressed cry filled the air.

All of the bulbmin shifted anxiously at the sound.

Alph recognized it as the mother bulbmin's cry. "Oh, that's right. I can't just take you guys with me, can I? I better get you back to your mom before I go." He picked out Dottie from the crowd and petted her fondly. He was going to miss her. "All right, follow me everyone!" he called out as he led the way outside.

He was sure the mother would understand he only needed to borrow her babies for a little bit.

...Right?

* * *

Snowflakes began to drift down from the sky as midday came and went. The frozen lake was colder than the Distant Tundra by far, yet Captain Charlie stood tall from his vantage point, refusing to let it bother him. His KopPad went missing after the fall, likely buried by now, leaving him no choice but to wait for Alph to find him. Occasionally he caught sight of his younger crew mate walking around on the other side of the lake, the purposefulness in his steps making it clear he was hot on the trail of a signal. It was no doubt his of course. Though last time his crew may have had their priorities _a bit_ mixed up, he had the utmost faith that Alph had learned from his mistake and was busily trying to secure a route to him before getting caught up in some other trifling matter. Like finding the ship. That could wait!

Charlie noticed some commotion in the distance. For the fourth time, he could see Alph on the other side of the lake. Except this time, he had much bigger company, and, instead of walking, he was running for his life. His pursuer, a bulborb with a stem sprouting out of its back, roared furiously at Alph as if he had personally wronged it somehow. It chased him all the way to some red and white cane shaped object. Alph frantically climbed up it, narrowly avoiding snapping jaws. In spite of the distance and the wind, Charlie was able to make out Alph's cries of "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'M SORRY!" as clear as day.

The bulborb circled the cane, glaring at Alph like a dog would a cat. At least it looked like he'd be safe up there until it got bored and left. Which would hopefully be soon. Charlie had to admit, he was starting to get a little chilly. Still, he'd have to wait for Alph to find him.

 _After all,_ Charlie thought as he turned to the snowy lump behind him. Several long, slender roots stuck out of it, and a frozen flower was placed gently by its side. _Alph will need to see this._


	5. Going Rabbite Hunting

Whether it had been minutes, hours, or even days, Alph wasn't sure how much time he spent clinging to that cane. The only thing he was certain of was that he was almost definitely frozen to it.

Shivering, he peered down. Some time ago, the mother bulbmin had stomped off after gathering up her children, shooting him a bitter glare that told him well enough that he was not welcome back. Even after she wandered out of his sight, he remained glued to the cane, afraid that the moment he touched the ground, she'd burst from the snow and take a bite out of him like she did to that amprat.

Still, not only was the cold unbearable, the heavy snowfall was beginning to weigh him down. Whether or not the bulbmin was waiting for him, he'd have to brave it. He slid down the cane and touched down lightly on the ground, glancing around again for any signs of danger. Across the lake, he just happened to notice a green glow coming from on top of a tall snow bank. He squinted at it. Was that the captain? What was the captain doing over there?

...Oh.

Oh, right!

* * *

The moment he finally managed to get Alph's attention, the younger Koppaite wasted no time in making his way over to him, which made Charlie just a tad suspicious as to what all that running around earlier was for. What could have been more important than trying to ensure the safety of the captain? He might have to have a talk with him one of these days...

A blue, gloved hand soon appeared over the edge of the snowy cliff as Alph hauled himself over it, only to collapse into a exhausted, shivering pile. "H-H-Here and a-awaiting orders, c-c-captain..."

"On your feet now, Alph," Charlie said as he walked over to him. "I know you've been walking around quite a bit today, but we still have some business we need to sort out."

Alph got to his feet as he was told, though he wore a dubious look on his face. "If you've been watching me, then why didn't you try to regroup with me?"

And here came the moment Charlie had been dreading: sharing the news about his discovery. "Because I needed you to come to this hill. Do you see that lump of snow over there?" He motioned over to it with his eyes. "Go take a look at it."

Curious, Alph went to investigate. He wiped away some of the snow and drew a sharp intake of breath. "Th-This is..."

"Yes, it's exactly what you think," Charlie sighed. He joined up with Alph at the bulb, his eyes falling at the sight of the gray swirl of colors hidden under the white powder. "That's an Onion. Or at least, what's left of it."

"It's not just an Onion," Alph murmured with a hint of panic in his voice."It's our Onion! I know it is! But the colors are all faded and it looks... it looks..." He backed away from it, his hands trembling. "Dead."

Dead. Yes, that was the word Charlie himself used to describe it when he first found it. Even with its faded colors, he also recognized it as the Onion that was under their care on their first trip. To see it now, dead and devoid of any traces of Pikmin, their friends and allies... It was heartbreaking.

"Did you at least find any survivors?" Alph continued. "Sprouts even?"

"Not a single soul."

Any hope Alph had left drained from his expression. He stared at his feet. "I can't believe they're really gone... And what if that was the only Onion left? Are we too late to save any of them?"

The discovery had put a damper on his spirits as well. Still, as captain, it was his job to keep the morale of his crew high. He walked over and patted Alph on the back. "Chin up, Alph. Things aren't as bad as they look."

Alph gave him a sidelong glance. "...Um, captain, I'm not sure how things could get much worse than this."

"Well, er, yes. You're right," he admitted awkwardly. "Things _are_ looking pretty grim. But we still have some hope left to hang on to. Take a look around. I think you overlooked something about this scene."

"Did I?" Alph reexamined the area again. His eyes lit up when they fell on the frozen flower next to the Onion. "That flower... How did that flower get there? There aren't any growing in this area." In a moment, his energy came back to him. He hurried over to the flower to investigate it further. "Captain, look! The stem is snapped at the bottom. Something had to have broken it and dragged it over here!"

Charlie had noticed that earlier when he was doing a sweep of the area. "And I have a hunch that whatever attacked the Onion wouldn't have bothered to leave a flower behind. No. That flower was left there in respect. Respect for fallen comrades."

"Then it must have been left by some Pikmin! There's no other explanation! There has to be some living here."

"Yes, and we have a good clue as to where to start looking."

The frozen flowers grew in patches all around the lagoon. They began their search with the nearest one, Charlie letting himself be led by a very determined Alph, and worked their way through them one by one. By the time they reached the third one, the weather had settled and thin rays of sun peeked out from the clouds. Light gilded the edges of the plants, a lustrous gold paired with icy white that shimmered and sparkled. Such a wondrous display of nature's beauty was enough to leave Charlie... just a little choked up inside.

Alph went on ahead of him, his eyes locked on the flowers though too focused on the task at hand to notice their splendor. "Hmm. There's a lot of them here. We'll have to be careful not to miss any." He paused when he noticed Charlie's expression. "Uh, captain? Are you okay? You look like you're about to break out into tears."

Coughing, Charlie quickly regained his composure. "Sorry. The glare of the sun was blinding me a bit. Speaking of which, it looks like it's starting to sink pretty low. Why don't we split up to cover more ground?"

He left Alph to explore the higher grounds while he took a lower path through the flowers. Underfoot, snow gave way to flat black stones as he went further down. The flowers eventually thinned out and he was back out in the open once again. A big, white pile of fluff sat in the distance, almost blinding against the black ground. At first, Charlie thought it was just a lump of snow. When it started moving though, he had to give it second look.

What looked like snow actually turned out to be an animal. The furry creature reared up on its hind legs-the only limbs it had, as far as Charlie could tell-and hopped around a section of dirt. From head to feet, it stood around the same height as a bulborb, though its long, gray-tipped ears made it look even taller. Not yet noticing Charlie, it hunched down and used the three finger like protrusions on the ends of its ears to paw away at a hole in the ground.

When it came to planet exploration, there was one golden rule to follow: if you run into an unknown creature much bigger than you, leave it alone! Charlie was more than content to do just that. That was, until Alph came running down the path yelling for him.

"Captain! I think I found it! There was a stem that was-" Alph's voice died when he saw the furry creature snap its head towards them. "What... what is that?"

It stood frozen with its ears erect, its little nose twitching a hundred miles an hour. Black, buttony eyes widened when they fell on the two and, before Charlie or Alph could react, the creature hopped away.

"Huh... Looks like you scared it off, Alph," Charlie said as he watched the creature's fluffy round tail disappear over a hill of snow.

Alph blinked. "Wh-What? _I_ scared it?"

"Well, one of us had to have scared it off! Are you suggesting it was me?"

"Er, of course not...What exactly was it, anyway? I've never seen a creature like that before."

"I'm not sure what it was, but it reminded of a beast from a story I heard." He turned to Alph. "Say, do you know of that story? The one about the ravenous space bunny?"

"No..." Alph shivered. "But it sounds terrifying."

"It's a chilling story for sure. I didn't even know such a creature existed, but apparently one unfortunate Hocotatian had the luck of running into one out in deep space. Described it as a grotesque and terrifyingly fluffy monster who gobbled down a whole shipload of golden Pikpik carrots in seconds. It was a real tragedy, I heard."

Alph's eyes widened. "You don't think it's the same one, do you?!"

"Alph, does it look like we're in space?"

He glanced away. "You never know..."

"Anyways, you said you found the snapped stem, right?"

"Yeah," Alph nodded. "It was all by itself in a small clearing. There weren't any footprints or anything, though. But whatever moved it must live around here, right?"

"Right. In fact, there's a chance we could be closer than we think," Charlie turned his attention back to the hole in the ground. "That bunny beast _was_ pretty keen on trying to dig something out of there."

"Then we better go take a look before it comes back."

The hole was only a few feet deep and just wide enough for a Pikmin to crawl into. However, to their disappointment, it seemed vacant aside from a white ball sitting at the bottom.

"Is that a snowball down there?" Alph asked.

That didn't seem right to him. Why in the world would that creature have gotten so worked up over a snowball? Charlie leaned in closer and squinted at it. "Looks kinda fuzzy. Alph, try poking it with something."

Alph jumped and opened his mouth to protest before thinking better of it. Sighing, he picked up a stick and gave the fluff ball a hesitant poke.

It squeaked.

Startled, Alph pulled back, nearly dropping his stick. After exchanging a glance with Charlie, he decided to poke it again.

It squirmed a bit before finally turning around to face them, revealing its little beady eyes. "Hwee?" A white stem ending in a golden flower pressed up against the roof of the tunnel, having remained out of sight until it turned around.

The sight of that telltale stem was enough to make Charlie's whole day. He couldn't help but smile. "Well, look at that! Not only did we manage to find one, but it's a new species, too!"

"So some have managed to survive! That's a relief." Alph crawled closer to get a better look."It's so fluffy... I wonder what kind of traits this one has?"

The Pikmin whimpered and scooted further back into the tunnel. Its whole body trembled like a leaf.

Charlie frowned. Alph was probably the one scaring it. "I think the better question is how we're going to coax the little guy out of there." He reached his hand inside and tried to speak in what he thought was a gentle tone of voice. He winced as it cried in fright and turned its back to him.

"Doesn't look like it trusts us..." Alph commented as Charlie stood up and brushed the snow off himself. "Maybe we could get it to come out if we brought some of its own kind with us. There has to be more, right? It couldn't have carried the flower by itself."

"I'm sure there is, but where are we going to find them? These little guys look like they probably blend in well with the environment. Heck," he gestured to the rolling hills of snow that surrounded them, "there could be dozens of them watching us right now!"

"And we don't have time to check every snowbank. We can probably only spare an hour or two before we have to start making our way back to the Drake." Alph brought out his KopPad just to double check and as he was examining the screen his eyes widened. "Uh, captain? Why is your signal moving?"

"What do you mean it's moving? I'm right here!"

He thrust the screen to his face. "Take a look for yourself then! There's two of you!"

Sure enough, an extra green dot was moving away from them in the same direction that creature had hopped off in. He gaped at the screen in utter confusion until he remembered his crash. "That's right, I lost my KopPad after the ship tossed me out! That bunny beast must of gotten a hold of it somehow."

Alph flipped the device over in hands so the screen faced him and hummed in thought. Charlie could almost hear the cogs turning in his head. "If it has your signal," Alph began, "then we could track it no problem. I'm thinking if we follow it for awhile, it could lead us to some more fluff Pikmin."

"So that's what we're calling them, eh? Now that you mention, it did take an interest in our friend here." Charlie brought a hand to his chin in thought. "Alph, why don't you go and track that creature?"

"Alone?!"

"If we both go off after it, this little guy might end up running off on us!" Charlie reasoned with him. "One of us is going to have to stay and watch it. Besides, I wouldn't worry too much. That bunny beast seems more scared of you than you are of it!"

"That doesn't make me feel better..." Alph said, hanging his head. After a notable pause, he eventually conceded. "...Fine, I'll go follow it. From a distance. A safe distance."

Once they separated, Charlie was left alone to brainstorm ideas on how to befriend the scared Pikmin. He knew any attempts at forcing it out would only frighten it more, and he didn't have the time to wait for it to come out on its own. _Perhaps if I tried tricking it into thinking I left? Yes, that may work._ Though when he thought about it, deception probably wasn't the best way to make friends with someone, but he'd cross the bridge when he came to it.

Noticing he was casting a shadow over the entrance, he moved to the opposite side and waited silently. It only took twenty minutes for a golden flower to rise out of the hole. Its stem followed after and soon the fluff Pikmin was standing outside, cautiously looking left and right with its back turned to him.

Seeing his chance, Charlie tried creeping closer to it...

_Snap!_

...Only to step on the stick Alph left behind.

The Pikmin's body went rigid at the sound. It slowly took a step back, then another, before spinning around and trying to make a beeline back to the tunnel.

Just before it could reach it, Charlie dived forward and covered the entrance, causing the Pikmin to skid to a stop right in front of his face. "Now hold on! I just want to- Hey wait!" he cried as Pikmin went on the run again, this time heading for a metallic, cylindrical object that was laying on its side. It pushed the object's razor edged lid open and disappeared into the shadowy depths inside, letting the lid close behind it with a clink.

Charlie got up and chased after it. Pushing aside the lid with the back of his hand, he stepped inside, letting his antenna light up his surroundings. He made out two dark blobs sitting in the back of the container. _Might be my lucky day. I think I just stumbled on another one!_ His hopes were dashed, however, when he moved closer to them. They weren't Pikmin, but gray rocks with golden cracks running along their surfaces.

Light footsteps approached from behind him while he was observing the rocks. Feeling an ominous chill, Charlie turned to find a small figure standing a few paces away.

The fluff Pikmin stared at him with angry eyes. Its glare wasn't that threatening; it held all the ferocity of that of a fluffy teddy bear, actually. What struck fear in his hardened heart was the glowing rock it held in its hands.

"Woah, take it easy there." Charlie backed up until he bumped into a wall. "No need to make any hasty decisions now..."

The Pikmin closed the gap and brandished the bomb. That gesture, combined with its trembling body, gave a clear message: 'I'm afraid to use this... But I will!'

"L-Look. My crew and I, we're friends of the Pikmin. We don't mean any harm." Charlie put his hands up to show his words were true. "Just put. The bomb rock. Down."

It cocked its head, confused at his words, but the tension didn't leave its body. In fact, hearing his strange language seemed to agitate it even further.

Charlie gulped. _Well, here I am, stuck between a bomb rock and a hard place..._ What was he going to do? Neither he nor the Pikmin had a way to communicate with each other. Wait, no. That's not true. That was never true. Though it wasn't perfect, they always had a way to interact. _Well, here goes nothing._ Charlie brought a hand to his whistle and blew a few quiet notes.

The Pikmin's stem perked up at the noise. Lowering the bomb rock, it listened as Charlie continued to whistle, the anger in its eyes fading into curiosity. After awhile, it tried imitating the sound with its voice, making a cute little _humm_ s as it did.

Charlie continued their duet until he was sure the Pikmin was placated before trying to reaching over and pet it. It startled at first, its fur fluffing out in all directions, before calming.

"There. That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Charlie said, pulling his hand back. "There wasn't anything to be afraid of. I mean, how could you be afraid of a face like this?" he added with a guffaw.

The Pikmin whined at his loud laughter.

"Ahem. Anyways..." He walked past it and pushed open the lid of the container. "Why don't go reunite with Alph? He may have found your friends already." He waved for the Pikmin to come with him. It paused, still unsure of Charlie's intentions, before shuffling over to him, bomb rock in hand.

* * *

The bunny beast, which Alph dubbed the frost-furred rabbite, roamed around a flat field of snow, unaware of him watching from afar. Its every movement gave away its nervousness. Where it would spend one second looking for food, it would spend three looking for danger, its ears perked and its frozen fur puffed out and bristled like small icicles.

Up, down, up, down, its head would go. Look for food. Look for predators. Look for food. Look for predators... It was starting to make Alph a little impatient. And dizzy. He tapped his fingers against the rock he was hiding behind. _Come on, we don't have that much time left! Try moving somewhere different already. You know this place better than I do!_

Its big ears must have picked up his thoughts as the rabbite finally decided to move on into some frozen patch of grass. Alph followed behind, using the tall blades of grass as cover. He was surprised to find that clinging to the frosty blades didn't make him feel any colder. In fact, for some reason, he actually felt rather warm, though he remembered reading that having sudden heat flashes was a sign of severe hypothermia, so maybe he was freezing but just didn't know anymore.

The rabbite came to a stop under a frozen flower with petals so wide they nearly blotted out the sky. It craned it neck up to stare at it, its ears twitching as it picked up some sound Alph couldn't hear. Raising an ear up high, it pinched its 'fingers' around one of the petals and broke the head of the flower off the stem with a violent yank.

A sharp, cracking sound not unlike glass breaking split the air as the flower shattered against the ground. Amid the flying ice shards, over a dozen fluff Pikmin cried as they were tossed in the air. Both Alph and the rabbite's eyes widened at the sight, though for different reasons.

"Oh no, oh no!" Alph muttered as he hurried to aid the scattering Pikmin. One made the unfortunate mistake of running past the rabbite only to be scooped up and popped into its mouth. Stopping just outside the chaos, Alph blew into his whistle as loud as he could and hoped the Pikmin would respond.

To his surprise, the shrill sound stunned the rabbite, freezing it place just as it was about to pick up another snack. The fluff Pikmin in question marveled at its savior and wasted no time rushing to his side for protection. The others watched and quickly followed suit, falling in line behind him.

Finally, he had a whole squad of Pikmin again! Alph wanted to stop and hug them out of joy (their fluffiness didn't help this urge any), but the crunching of snow brought his attention back to the Rabbite. It had recovered from its shock and hopped closer to him, drool falling from its mouth. It glanced back and forth between him and the Pikmin, torn as to whether or not to attack or flee, but Alph wasn't very worried. He stood tall and blew his whistle again, confident he'd be able to scare it off for good.

Its ears twitched, but otherwise it had no effect. Alph's hand dropped to his side and he backed up. Okay, now he was worried. The rabbite hopped even closer, slowly becoming aware that Alph couldn't hurt it any.

Looking behind him, he took a quick note of how many Pikmin he had. Nineteen. Hardly enough to take it on without heavy casualties. Its sharp, frozen fur likely made an attack impossible anyway. "I think we're gonna have to try and make a run for it," he said under his breath.

Just then, a voice called from the distance. "Hold on! We're coming!"

All heads turned to the direction of the voice. From a mound of snow a ways away, Charlie stood with a fluff Pikmin by his side. "You did a good job, Alph, but we can take it from here!" He turned to the Pikmin. "All right, Felicity, go give that thing what for!" He pointed to the rabbite and whistled.

'Felicity' nodded and tossed the bomb rock as hard as she could. Time seemed to slow as the rock flew in the air, twisting and turning as its golden cracks glowed with hidden power. Alph felt rooted to his spot, unable to look at anything other than the rock...

...As it traveled only a few feet and plopped anticlimactically into the snow a good, well, nowhere near where the rabbite was standing, actually.

Light poured out from the cracks as the bomb rock began to hiss at the base of the mound Charlie was standing on. He regarded it calmly before looking to Alph. "Well, Alph. We tried. Luck be with you." He grabbed Felicity's stem and dived for cover.

Alph slumped and tried to cover his ears, forgetting he was wearing a helmet.

The bomb rock exploded in a magnificent blast of gold, sending plumes of white flakes flying in every direction. The rabbite shrieked in response, a sound Alph barely heard over his ringing ears, and collapsed face first into the snow, spitting out two objects just before it did.

A few puffs of frozen breath told Alph the creature was still alive. "Did it... faint?" He figured the explosion must have been too much for its oversized ears to handle. Catching sight of the two objects it spat up, he went over to investigate as Charlie approached him. "Well, now we know what happened to your KopPad, captain."

Charlie eyed the spit covered device in displeasure. "...At least I didn't get eaten with it this time. But what's that other thing it spat up?"

Alph picked it up and examined it. It seemed to be a blue data file, not unlike the ones Olimar left behind on his last trip. A protective glass casing covered it, however a crack ran down its surface, which allowed some liquid to seep in and rust out the sensitive card. "Looks like someone left this behind a long time ago."

"Think it was Olimar?"

"The technology's different, so I doubt it. We can always ask him later, though." Alph pocketed the file and recounted their Pikmin. "We have twenty in all now. I'm glad we were able to find some, but what are going to do with them? We couldn't find their Onion."

"They may no longer even _have_ an Onion, Alph," Charlie responded. After a moment's thought, he continued, "We should have plenty of room on the Drake for them. We'll just have to make sure they behave themselves and don't end up crashing the ship while we sleep!"

* * *

Thankfully, the fluff Pikmin took well to the Drake. They bounded about with near limitless curiosity for the alien technology, and it only took a few stern tweets of their whistles to get across what they can and can't touch.

As the ship rose past the sky, Alph turned the data file over in his hands, trying to find any clues as to where it came from or who left it behind. _If only the card hadn't been so badly damaged, I could have probably extracted some info from it._ Not finding anything useful, Alph set the file aside and watched the ship's altitude increase on the monitor.

_199 miles... 200 miles..._

"...Hmm."

"Did you have any luck contacting the others?" Charlie asked, walking up to Alph's chair. Felicity was sitting on top of his head.

"No. In fact, I haven't seen any signs they made it out here. They might still be on the surface..." He wrung his hands together. "What should we do?"

Charlie shook his head. "There really isn't much we can do until morning. We'll just have to wait and see if they contact us throughout the night."

"I guess you're right. In that case, I'll stay up in case they do." He'd never sleep anyway. Not with the anxiety crawling in his gut. _Whenever Brittany and I were separated before, we still had contact with each other. Now I feel so in the dark..._

He looked at the monitor, intending to watch the radar, only to have his eyes wander back to the rising numbers on the altimeter. For some reason, he just couldn't tear them away.

_212... 213..._

"...You all right, Alph? You're fidgeting quite a bit there."

"I-" He froze up when the monitor flickered. An error message popped up in the corner, followed by another. "Oh no..."

The ship jolted right after, forcing Charlie to grab onto Alph's chair for support. "What's going on?! Are we losing control again?"

_.. 217..._

And then it finally clicked in Alph's mind why he was so worried about their altitude.

220 miles away from the surface. That's when the ship malfunctioned.

Alph jumped for the controls. "W-We need to turn the ship around!" Tapping away at the buttons, he commanded the ship to take a hard right. Pikmin squealed as the sudden turn sent their light bodies flying in the air. As they descended, the Drake's flight grew steadier and the computer began to correct the errors. Once they were flying below 200 miles, Alph slumped back into his chair in relief. "Whew..."

With the ship stable again, the Fluff Pikmin floated back down to their feet as lightly as downy feathers. Alph didn't realize it during all the commotion, but at some point Felicity had ended up on his head.

Charlie stood still beside him, staring stone-faced at the monitor. "Alph," he began after a long pause, "It happened again."

"At the same place, too."

"...You know what that means, right?"

Alph swallowed. "We might be stuck here..."

* * *

_Day 1-_

_And so, our mission to stop the Pikmin extinction has begun. Our first day found us in an icy wilderness we later named the Frosty Lagoon. Today had it's ups and downs. The high point, of course, was discovering a new species of Pikmin. The low points were the discoveries of our Onion's remains as well as that of a high energy field surrounding the planet. What exactly this field is composed of, I can't be sure, but just getting near it causes the ship to go haywire._

_Of course, the Drake has protective shielding around its electric components to protect them from outside interference such as this, yet they didn't seem to do any good in this case. The field still managed to break through and muddle up all of its systems... It was almost like we were caught in a bad proton storm! Whatever is creating this field must be incredibly powerful. But what could be causing it? The planet? Or something else? Either way, if we can't find a way to get rid of it, then we won't be able to leave! With this and with Brittany and Captain Olimar's disappearance... Ugh, what a bad way to end the day..._

_-Alph_


	6. Nightfall

Moonlight washed over the clearing, clinging to plants and tree trunks like sliver paint, flooding the dark forest with light yet at the same time giving it an unsettling ghostly atmosphere. Leaves rustled as a light breeze wove through them, the only sound in the eerie silence.

Brittany shivered, though not from cold.

Thirty minutes into her vigil, and not a soul to be seen. She yawned, her head bobbing up and down as sleep weighed on her eyelids. She decided to close them... just to rest them of course!

A second passed. Then another. Then a few minutes.

She woke up with a start. _C_ _'mon, stay focused! You weren't this sleepy a few minutes ago!_ Despite her silent scolding, drowsiness soon settled in once again. Sighing, she leaned back against the root and stared up at the stars. _I wonder if Alph's up there right now. Hopefully he's not stranded on the surface, too. Just the thought that, right now, some creature could be gnawing on him..._ Suddenly, Brittany didn't think she could sleep even if she wanted to.

Wanting to clear her thoughts, she decided to take a small walk. She peered out from roots and wandered out into the clearing after making sure the coast was clear. Aside from Alph, there had been one other problem poking at the back of her mind: those thorn-covered flowers.

Brittany approached them with slow and wary steps, stopping a few paces away. From the moment she laid eyes on them, she knew there was something off about them. _I don't think they're are actually wilted. It could be to keep other creatures from eating them, but in that case, why would the bulborb run away? Poison? Some bad scent?_ She had to admit, as a botanist, it intrigued her as much as it worried her.

One of the stems twitched. Brittany watched it, an awful feeling welling up in her stomach.

The drooping flower rose toward the sky, its white petals unfurling and emitting a strong glow. Its thorny stem swayed as if being played with by the wind.

But the wind wasn't blowing anymore.

One by one, the others followed suit, rising and opening up to the sky. The one difference was that none of the others emitted any light.

Brittany watched, frozen in shock. When the soil beneath them began to shift, she snapped back to her senses and ran back to the tree roots.

"Olimar!" she yelled, hurrying over to shake his arm. "Get up!"

Drowsily he lifted his head. "What is it?"

"The flowers," she started, pointing behind her, "they're... Something's going on with-"

Olimar was up on his feet before she could even finish her sentence. A dark look fell over his features as he brushed past her.

Green hands rose from the ground and buried their tiny clawed fingers into the soil as the creatures uprooted themselves. Once they were free, the Pikmin shook off the dirt that clung to their jade bodies. They stretched and yawned in an attempt to clear away their sleepiness, none of them paying attention to the world around them.

Except for one.

It was larger than the others with a wicked scar trailing down its chest. It stared right through them with a dark glare that turned Brittany's blood to ice. Its glowing stem flickered in a silent command. The others saw then turned their heads to them in unsettling unison.

Their eyes, while identical in appearance to most other Pikmin, held a wild intensity Brittany had never seen before from the species. Their pupils flashed from black to green as moonlight got caught in them, like the eyes of a wolf.

"I really don't like the way they're looking at us, Olimar," she whispered.

"They're nocturnal..." Olimar mumbled half to himself.

Brittany knew what he was getting at. She found herself staring at their claws. "We need to get away. Now."

"Stay close and don't make any sudden moves." He gave her a nudge to get her moving.

The lead Pikmin's head turned as it tracked their movements. With two flicks of its stem, it ordered a group of its underlings to approach them from the left and another group from the right. They fanned out with surprising speed and blocked off any escape routes Olimar or Brittany had, corralling them to back into the roots of the tree.

One charged through the ranks and leapt at them with its claws outstretched. It slashed empty air as Brittany jumped out of the way, pressing her back against the root. The attack spurred the rest of the Pikmin into action.

"Climb!" she heard Olimar bark. He was scaling the root across from her.

She grabbed onto the root on her side and clambered to the top. A Pikmin was waiting for her by the time she got there. It lunged for her before she had anytime to react, its claws screeching as they raked her helmet. The sudden weight threw off her balance, causing her to fall down the other side of the root.

Her assailant landed in a heap beside her, dazed from the force of the landing. She scooted away from it and turned to the tree. "Olimar?! Where are you?"

Several heads appeared from behind the root, none of them belonging to her friend. When even more approached from her left, Brittany scrambled to her feet and backed away.

They were beginning to circle her, trying to back her against the tree. She had no choice. She ran for the thicket before they could surround her, hoping Olimar would be fine on his own.

Leafy branches swatted at her, leaving her blind as to where she was going. Because of this, she failed to notice that the ground took a sharp incline until it was too late. She lost her footing and tumbled down the slope before landing nosily in a bush. Her antenna drooped in front of her face, lighting up the surrounding leaves with a pink glow. Gasping, she grabbed the orb at the end and covered it with her hands.

Loud chatter echoed from above her. She almost looked when she heard some rocks tumble down the cliff to her left. A Pikmin slid down and landed only a few feet away from her, close enough to brush against the leaves of the bush. Another slid down to her right, and she heard even more in the distance. Twigs snapped underfoot as they spread out to find her.

From her limited view, she was able to spot at least a dozen, possibly more. She wanted to scoot further back into the bush to stay as far from them as possible, but she didn't dare move and risk making any noise.

Half of the Pikmin remained on the ground, searching the thicket for any traces of her, while the other half climbed up tree trunks and tall plants to gain a better view. They talked to each other in their strange language. One standing on top a shoot shook its head at a small group below and jumped down to follow them.

As their backs moved further and further away, Brittany finally breathed again.

It was then a pair of eyes flashed in front of her, startling her into letting go of her antenna. Both her and the Pikmin stared at each other in dumbfounded shock, neither sure what to do. Eventually, it finally occurred to the Pikmin that it had stumbled across the prey it had been looking for and it turned to call back the other members of its tribe. Before it could utter a sound, Brittany grabbed it by its leaf and yanked it back into the bush with her. Its yelp was cut off as she set her hand over its mouth.

"Shh! You be quiet!" she hissed at the struggling creature. "I'm not going to hear a peep out of you, you got that?"

The Pikmin thrashed even harder, forcing her to grab onto its stem to keep it from injuring her. She ignored it for the time being and watched the retreating Pikmin, tensing as she noticed the leaves around her were lit up again. _C'mon, just a little bit further... Don't look back now_. While she wasn't paying attention, her hostage kicked its leg out at a branch.

One Pikmin paused at the noise, its stem straight and alert. Brittany glowered at the one in her possession. Tightening her grip on it, she pulled it closer so none of its flailing limbs could strike another branch. The other Pikmin remained still, waiting for another noise to tip it off. After a few seconds, its stem lost its tension and it disappeared into the undergrowth with the others. The one she was holding went limp, realizing that its friends were not coming back for it.

Brittany waited to make sure they had really left before falling back into one of the bush's stems. _Thought I was a goner there... My whole body's trembling!_ She realized a moment later that it wasn't _her_ body shaking.

When she met the Pikmin's frightened gaze, an ugly spark of vindictiveness lit in her chest. "Not all that fun to be scared, is it?"

It shrunk in her arms.

Somehow, that made her feel guilty. She looked away from its shivering form, finding interest in the shifting leaves around her. What was she going to do with it now? Letting it go could mean trouble for her if it went to call for the others. But she knew she didn't have it in her to kill it. Sighing, she opened her arms and let it free. "Go on, then..."

It staggered away from her, its expression uncomprehending, before tearing out of the bush after the others, glancing back at her every so often. The last Brittany saw of it were its glowing eyes before the forest engulfed them.

* * *

Olimar had never ran so fast in his life. His tired body protested against him at every step as he stumbled through the forest. Gasping, he stopped behind a tree to give his burning lungs a short break.

Leaves whispered behind him, warning him of approaching danger. Underneath their voices, he could hear footsteps. Whether they were near or far, he couldn't tell.

But he wouldn't let them catch him. He remembered his family, waiting patiently for him back on Hocotate. New energy flowed through him at the thought.

Olimar kept running. Plants passed by him in a black and green blur until he came to a dead end in the form of a deep gully. A tree trunk had fallen over the gap, forming a makeshift bridge. Below, a red bulborb was tangling with a number of the green predators in a fight that it didn't seem to be winning. Olimar heard the Pikmin crash through the bushes behind him. Seeing no other option, he grabbed onto the mossy trunk and climbed, the Pikmin right on his tail. By the time he reached the top, his pursuers were already over half way done scaling the tree.

He spared only a second to watch, noting how easily their claws dug into the bark, before making his way across the trunk. On the other side of the gully, a white light gleamed from the brush, making him halt. Dozens of emerald eyes were waiting for him on the other side.

A rival tribe.

Olimar stepped back, a bead of sweat running down his brow. They had him cornered. Hearing approaching footsteps, he turned to face the group that had been chasing him. The Pikmin in the lead stalked closer to him, sizing him up like a piece of food. Olimar held its hungry gaze bravely, but inside he was panicking. What now?

The ground rumbled as the bulborb lost its footing and fell, getting swarmed in seconds by green specks. It forced itself up again and shook off its attackers. With a weak snarl, it fell back, moving closer to the fallen tree trunk.

Close enough to reach, Olimar thought. He wasn't sure what would happen if he jumped for it, but he was certain of what would happen if he didn't.

Seeing his lapse in attention, the Pikmin lunged at him, and Olimar knew he didn't have time to think about it anymore. He made a leap for the bulborb's back, yelling when he landed.

Startled, the bulborb took off running through the crowd of Pikmin, just like Olimar hoped it would. However, his plan didn't fully work as it only made it a few steps before it roared in pain and came crashing to the ground, nearly throwing Olimar over. He noticed that most of the Pikmin had dived out of the way, save for one that had been crushed into the ground, a thorn missing from its stem. The survivors gathered around it, their stems drooping in mourning.

Olimar used the moment to crawl over to the bulborb's eyestalks. "Come on, get up," he said, nudging one. "If you don't keep moving, they'll catch us." When the bulborb didn't move, he decided to try a different approach. He lightly punched the back of its eye, trying to get it to believe he was an enemy.

It growled in response and tried to stand up again, only to whimper and collapse.

The crushed Pikmin flashed in his mind. It was missing a thorn! Quickly sliding down its side, he hurried over to the bulborb's feet, finding a green thorn deeply embedded in one. Olimar grabbed on to it. In his peripheral vision, he saw the Pikmin were focusing on them again. With one mighty tug, he managed to pull out the thorn. Throwing it aside, he latched onto the bulborb's leg as it stood up and took off running again, watching as the Pikmin grew smaller and smaller in the distance.

After some time, the bulborb slowed to a stop inside of a hollowed out tree stump. Exhausted, Olimar slid off its leg before the bulborb plopped down on its side. Olimar leaned his back against the beast, not realizing what he was doing at first. With a gasp, he hopped to his feet and put some distance between them, relaxing when he discovered it had fallen asleep.

While he had gotten through mostly unscathed, the same couldn't be said for the bulborb. Its whole hide was covered with punctures and lacerations. It would live, Olimar was certain, but he felt sorry for it nonetheless. _To think I would need to rely on a bulborb to save me from some Pikmin. How backwards._

Their glowing eyes remained imprinted in his mind, eyes that chilled him to the core. Brighter than the rest were those of the scarred Pikmin. When it glared at him before, its gaze seemed almost... accusatory. Why that was, he didn't have the answer, but he knew those eyes were going to haunt him for some time.

For a few minutes, Olimar allowed himself to rest against the wall before he tried to bring out his computer, only to find it was missing. Because of the sudden crash, he didn't have time to properly prepare. And when he _did_ find the ship, he had gotten so annoyed at its rambling he completely forgot about it. He scowled at himself. Mistakes like that could get someone killed!

Without his computer he had no way of directly reaching Brittany. The best he could do was contact the ship and see if he would have better luck.

The moment he turned on his communicator, the ship's screechy voice assaulted his ears. " _Olimar! Where have you been?! I'll have you know that I refuse to be abandoned again!_ " The connection turned staticky for a second. " _Zrrt! Help! There is a s_ heargrub _inside my hull!_ "

Olimar ignored him and got straight to the point. "Can you pick up any traces of Brittany's whereabouts? We've been separated and I can't contact her."

" _Brittany? Just a moment... I am picking up her signal about a mile southeast of your location... However, I'm having difficulties establishing communications with her. She may be out of my range."_

"But she's only a mile away!" _How small was this thing's range?_

" _Under normal circumstances, I would be able to reach her!_ " the ship said pointedly. " _However, quite a few of my systems have sustained substantial damage. It's almost as if someone crashed me into a tree and left me to get eaten alive by bugs._ "

"Vitals?" Olimar quickly moved on.

" _She is alive._ "

"Good _._ You keep trying to reach her. I'll go take a look for myself."

" _I will inform you if I have any success. Just so we're clear, I expect to see you both back before sunset. These bugs aren't going to- wait no! DON'T CHEW ON TH-_ " The connection died.

...Well, that was odd.

Using the wall as support, Olimar dragged himself out of the hollow. His legs felt leaden with exhaustion, but he forced himself onward. _I can rest after I find her. A captain has to put their subordinate's safety first._ Even if she technically didn't answer to him, that didn't change the fact she was still under his care. How could he face the others if he let something happen to their crew mate?

Outside, the forest was quiet and still which only served to unnerve him now that he knew what secrets it held. After checking to make sure he was alone, he walked out into the open, putting one hand on the whistle at the base of his helmet. Taking a deep breath, he blew into it. He listened as the sound echoed through the woods. A few seconds later, he heard a faint reply.

He set off in that direction, hoping she could hold out for a little while longer.

* * *

Brittany sagged with relief when she heard Olimar's whistle and wasted no time returning his call. She saw his signal moving on her map, but for some reason he hadn't been answering her calls.

"Hopefully we find each other before something else does," she muttered as she pushed through the undergrowth. Her antenna lit her way, though right now she was finding it more of a liability that drew too much attention to hungry, opportunistic eyes. _I might as well have a neon sign hanging over my head saying 'Come eat me!'_

Roots and fallen branches paved the uneven forest floor, and Brittany found herself having to take long out of the way routes just to get around all the obstacles. Often she'd end up getting completely turned around as a result. Judging by her map, it seemed Olimar was having the same problem. He was closer to her, but now he was heading the wrong way.

She fingered her whistle, wondering if she should sent out another call, when she heard a cry of a Pikmin nearby. She groaned. _Great. More of them. Guess I better not try and draw any attention to myself._ Letting her hand drop, she decided to keep pressing on when she heard another cry. Then another. She stopped and stared in the direction they were coming from, conflicted.

Brittany had been around Pikmin long enough to recognize a cry of distress when she heard one.

"Are they in trouble...?" She shook her head, berating herself for getting worried over them. "What am I doing? They just tried to kill me!"

Another wail broke the silence... this one getting cut short.

Brittany hung her head. Somedays, she hated having a conscience. Cautiously, she headed in the direction of the cries, following a path where the green plants were overtaken by gray rocks. There was a great stone pit waiting for her at the end, inside of which she could hear the sounds of a fight going on. She was creeping over to the edge to get a better view when a giant red wing with black markings rose from behind it, startling her into finding cover. The wing, thin and scaly like an insect's, disappeared below the edge. The next time she saw it, it had moved further away to the right. Following it were the distressed calls of the Pikmin.

She crawled over to the edge and peered down. The Pikmin were locked in a fight for their lives against a behemoth of a moth. Coarse, sandy brown fur covered its body and its single pair of small arms. A striking pair of feathery, red antennae sprouted from its head and drooped down under their weight, each growing so long their tips brushed the ground. Its tail remained coiled tightly under its abdomen, unfurling when the creature targeted a Pikmin. Underneath the fur, Brittany could see the shimmer of a black stinger.

Before it had a chance to use it, another Pikmin-Brittany recognized it as the one with the glowing flower and the scar-latched onto its antenna and began to climb. The insect tried to shake it off, but the Pikmin stubbornly held firm. It soon reached its head and lashed out at its black eyes with its stem. The insect lost control, veering into the cliff directly below Brittany.

She felt the rock crumble underneath her from the impact. _Nonono! Not again!_ She tried to scramble away, but gravity took a hold of her and dragged her down into the pit in a shower of pebbles. She looked up, terror stricken by the sight of the insect's tail just a few feet away from her. It wasn't focused on her however. Instead, its full attention was on the injured Pikmin lying on the ground before it. Its tail uncurled once again, and Brittany had to close her eyes as it came down with sickening _thunk_.

The insect brought its tail up and picked up the dying Pikmin with its arms. Turning it upside down, it nibbled on it feet first.

The other Pikmin watched in horror as their leader was eaten.

While the insect, the feathered stingtail, she decided, dined, she got up and retreated, only to knock into the shoulder of a dazed leaf Pikmin. They stared at each other in a dumbfound shock that Brittany found to be just a tad nostalgic. It didn't make any move to attack her. Instead, it looked like it was actually at a loss as to what to do. She noticed it kept looking at the light on her antenna. Around her, the other Pikmin were fixating on it, too.

The stingtail dropped the remains of its meal, nothing more than a glowing stem that's light went out before it touched the ground. It turned to her, eyeing her up as its next victim. The Pikmin beside her shrieked and clung to her arm.

As the stingtail's shadow fell over her, Brittany backed up and brought her hand up to her whistle.

* * *

From out of the blue, Olimar heard another call from Brittany, only this time it wasn't a long continued noise but a pattern. Three short tweets followed by three longer ones and ending with three short ones again. Halfway through the code, Olimar had already taken off running. _An SOS? Just hold on, Brittany. I'm coming!_

Following the source of the noise led him to an outcrop where stones rose from the ground like rows of pointed teeth. An uproar of cries and shouts boomed from beyond the forest of rocks. Worried, he quickly weaved his way through them, moving so fast he almost failed to notice the sharp drop off ahead of him. Rocks tumbled down into the pit below as he came to an abrupt stop at the edge.

Down in the stone hollow, green stems and white petals littered the floor. Directly across from him, a winged insect had backed Brittany and a handful of Thorn Pikmin into a wall. Brittany was just barely able to dive out of the way as the bug drove its stinger at her.

"Brittany, over here!" he called for her.

Her eyes lit up when she saw him and she slipped away from the bug. The thorns followed her; one was even clinging to her shoulder! "Olimar, glad to see you! Look, I think we might be able to get these guys to listen to us, but I need your help. Can you find a way down?"

Get them to listen? Was she insane?! He stared doubtfully at the surviving thorns that weren't with Brittany. All of them wore similar expressions on their faces: shock, fear, and sorrow as they stared at the remains of their friends. He felt his doubts ebb away. These Pikmin may have been different, but in the end they were just trying to survive like any other of their kind. And if it meant their survival, maybe they could reach an agreement, even if it was a temporary one. This might work. "All right, just hold on."

He slid down a long branch he found leaning against the wall of the pit. While Brittany was busy keeping the bug at bay, Olimar went on to gather some of the Pikmin. He whistled and motioned them over, managing to get a few over to his side. The rest kept their distance from him, looking ready to attack if he got too close. He decided to just leave them and make do with what he had.

The moth wasn't paying him any attention as it chased down Brittany. Seeing his chance, Olimar carefully grabbed one of the Pikmin's stems and tossed it on the moth's back. Once it latched on, it wasted no time digging its thorns into the moth's hide, causing the creature to thrash about as it tried to shake it off. While it was distracted, Brittany threw her own Pikmin at one of its long antennae.

Olimar wasn't waiting around, either. He kept throwing Pikmin until he had no more left. The bug began to struggle under their weight.

The rest of the thorns gathered around, their eyes glittering with a hungry desire for revenge.

Brittany's squad soon scaled the ropy antenna and launched an assault on the bug's eyes. Screeching, it fell from the air into a struggling heap on the ground. The rest of the Pikmin swarmed it in seconds, tearing it apart with claws and thorns. The moth didn't have a chance.

"That's... brutal," Brittany said as she walked to his side, her mouth open.

Olimar only managed a nod. Even if it was nature, he had to admit it was a little disconcerting to watch Pikmin tearing off chunks of meat to nibble on. "You're okay after all that, right?"

"Somehow..."

The leafed Pikmin that had been clinging to Brittany earlier approached her with a furry chunk of insect flesh and offered it to her. Paling, she brought up her hand and turned away. "N-No thanks."

"That one seems fond of you," Olimar commented, earning an annoyed look from her. "How did you get them under control? I was certain they'd be too aggressive to tame."

She looked over to a half eaten stem laying near the wall. "Well, I think they might be a little confused. Their leader got eaten just before you arrived. And it had a glowing stem, remember?"

"That it did," Olimar said, putting a hand to his chin. "So a case of mistaken identity, then? This could be good for us. There's no way we're recovering the engine without their help."

"I don't know, Olimar," Brittany muttered, knowing where he was going."I don't really like the idea of having a whole group of these guys following us. What if they suddenly decide we look tasty and attack again?"

"There's no guarantee they won't. You can never truly tame a wild predator. But they seem to be amiable at the moment. It's likely they'll listen to us." He turned back to the Pikmin, realizing they had finished eating and were now staring at them. There was a peculiar difference between some of their temperaments. The leaf Pikmin carried a calm air about them, watching them with an innocent curiosity that clashed with the distrustful gazes of the buds and flowers. Olimar tentatively whistled them over. They all responded this time and gathered in a group before him and Brittany. With their bellies full, they didn't seem to interested in attacking them, if the thought was even still in their minds, which helped put the two of them at ease.

Back near the insect's body, Olimar noticed movement underneath the soil. To his surprise, five thorny stems shot up through the dirt. "I see. It seems this species can reproduce on their own as long as they have adequate nourishment."

"Kinda like Onions, huh?" Brittany added. "Hold on, I'll go get them."

While she went to pluck the sprouts, Olimar looked around for an exit out of the hollow, spotting a tunnel. He was about to tell Brittany about it when he noticed she had returned carrying two blue colored berries. The five Pikmin she just plucked were also carrying a berry each. Olimar fixed her an exasperated stare.

"What?" she started indignantly. "It's a new species. Leave me alone!"

* * *

By some good fortune, the tunnel ended not far from the snagret's nest. Even with their small group of twenty five Pikmin, the snavian wasn't able to put up much of fight against their fierce attacks and had to escape with only a few feathers left to its name.

The engine only required twenty Pikmin to lift which was good for Brittany as Olimar knew she wasn't going to relinquish any of her treasures. Getting the Pikmin to pick up the engine was a little difficult as they weren't hardwired to carry things unlike their cousins. Eventually, the message got through to them and soon they were on their way back to the ship, exhausted but relieved at have finding a solution.

The night was starting to slip away by the time they reached the impact site. Olimar's feet were dragging and his arms were hanging loosely by his sides. Brittany was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. The realization that they were only going to get a few hours to rest only made them even more tired.

His ship didn't make a peep as it picked up the engine with a beam of light. Olimar remembered it had cut off during their last conversation, though he didn't recall why. With the engine back in its rightful place, the ship's thruster spat out a stream of fiery gas as it worked to right itself.

"Well," Brittany began with a yawn, "now that we got the engine back, that begs the question of what we're going to do with these guys."

"Yes, and I've been putting some thought into it." Olimar watched her out of the corner of his eye. He had a feeling she wouldn't like what he was about to say next. "Brittany, I think we should take them with us for now."

She nearly dropped her berries. "What?! I mean, I know they helped us, but they also tried to hurt us! How are you supposed to trust something that could turn on you?"

"I know it's risky business, but we do need some help if we're going to explore this planet. You've seen how strong they are, and we don't know when... or if... we'll find anymore Pikmin."

Her face fell. "Still..."

"We'll keep them separate from us while we sleep, and when we need them, we'll command them in pairs just to be safe. I'll make sure nothing happens." Though inside, he wondered if he was making the right decision. The suspicious glares some of them threw at him did not go unnoticed. _And they're all directed at me. Why though?_ He shivered as he felt the lead Pikmin's icy gaze on him again.

Brittany seemed more reassured by his statement. "Well, they've been following our orders so far. And this one's pretty friendly, if not a little clingy," she said, referring to the Pikmin on her shoulder. "Do you think I should give it a name?"

"I don't see any harm in that," he said, happy for the distraction. "The ship's ready to take off now, so let's hurry and get everyone inside so we can get to bed."

It took quite a bit of coaxing to get the unsure group of Pikmin inside, much to Olimar's frustration. He just wanted to get to sleep already! Once they were stored away in the hull, he expected the ship to start nagging him about how their thorns were poking him, but it still remained uncharacteristically quiet. Olimar wasn't about to complain. The less he heard from it, the better.

Once the ship broke through the clouds and into low orbit, he received a transmission from the Drake. While he was glad to hear from them, he hoped the message would be brief. He was about to fall asleep at the wheel. "This is Captain Olimar," he answered.

Alph's image appeared on his computer screen. "Captain Olimar! I'm relieved to see you made it off the surface!" While his voice was chipper, his eyes betrayed sleeplessness. Was he up all night? "When we didn't see your ship back in orbit after sundown, well... It was worrying, to say the least." He tried to look behind Olimar. "Is...?"

"Brittany's fine."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "So we all made it through then. What a rough start, huh?"

"It can't ever be easy for us, can it?" Olimar agreed. "Now, was there any news you needed to share? I don't mean to sound rude, I'm glad to see you guys are safe as well, but it's been a very long night for me and I need to get what sleep I can."

He appeared to be taken aback by that."A-Ah yes, I understand. I suppose Brittany would be pretty tired too, then..."

Oh, so he wanted to talk to her.

Alph recovered. "I'll keep this short then. There was some bad news I wanted to share."

 _Bad news? Is it bout the Pikmin...?_ "Could you tell me in the morning?" He didn't want to hear something that would keep him up for the next few hours.

"Sure. Just make sure to stay in low orbit," Alph said, earning a raised eyebrow from Olimar. "I'll see you in the morning then. I have some good news to share as well! By the way, you still have those coordinates I gave you before, right?"

Olimar nodded.

"Let's try and meet up there again. It's a lush, flower filled valley that I have a pretty good feeling about. Well, I'll let you off then. This is Alph, signing off!" The screen went black.

Olimar sighed and leaned back into his seat. He wished he had some of Alph's energy right now. To be young again...

After typing up a quick report, he left the cockpit and set off for bed. Brittany was already curled up in hers, though sleep was escaping her at the moment as Brambles, her newly named thorn Pikmin, was causing a ruckus in the corner. He was hunched down, trying to dig his way through the ship's metal floor with little success. He stood up with his hands on his hips, his stem twitching in annoyance.

"Olimaaar," Brittany whined as soon as she saw him. She was covering her head with her pillow. "What's he doing? He won't stop making noise over there!"

"Looks like he's trying to burrow for the night. Or the morning, I should say," he explained.

She shot him a look that said 'Well, go do something about it!'

He huffed. "You're the one who brought him in here! You figure it out!" He turned away and headed for his bed on the opposite side of the room. Like much else about his ship, the beds left a lot to be desired. Sometimes Olimar thought that he'd actually be better off sleeping on the floor. He was willing to bet it would be softer and less lumpy there.

Brambles ended up giving up on his own and instead wandered around to find somewhere else to sleep. Deciding Brittany's bed would do nicely, he hopped up and started burrowing under the covers. Brittany shrieked when his thorny stem popped out right in front of her face.

"O-Olimar..."

"Goodnight, Brittany. Don't let the bed Pikmin bite."

All he got was dour look for an answer. Kids couldn't take a joke these days, he swore.

"You contacted the Drake, right? Was everyone okay?" she ventured after a few moments.

"They're both fine, it seems." Briefly, Olimar wondered if he should tell her that Alph stayed up all night waiting for her. Then again, maybe it wasn't any of his business. "We'll be meeting up in a few hours, so let's get what sleep we can," he finished, receiving a hum in response.

Turning over, he was about to close his eyes when he saw a white blob creeping along the shadows on the ceiling. Was... that a female sheargrub?

Olimar watched it scoot along before covering his head with his pillow. He'd deal with it later...

* * *

_Day 1-_

_The day began disastrous, but managed to end on a positive note once we broke away from the surface and confirmed the safety of the Drake's crew. Another positive is that some bug chewed up the ship's voice box while I was away. I'll have to fix it soon, but for now silence is golden and I'm going to treasure every moment of it._

_During our exploration of the Forgotten Sanctuary, we made the startling discovery of a predacious species of Pikmin. Armed with thorns and claws, they've traded the sun for the moon, nectar for meat, and a docile personality for a wild one. In this forest, they've even managed to force bulborbs to hunt during the day as the night no longer belongs to them. As these Pikmin can also reproduce on their own, these changes can most likely be attributed due to the absence of an Onion. Still, there is one question that bothers me. Did these Pikmin evolve this way because their Onions were destroyed, or are they descendants of Pikmin who were left behind after sunset?_

_That glare the leader gave me... I can't get it out of my mind..._

_-Olimar_


	7. Statues of Red and Green and Gray

The day was dying. Shadows bled into the world as the sun drowned beneath the horizon, stripping the land and sky of their friendly colors and instead shrouding them in a smoky gray.

It was a sight Olimar didn't want to see.

Pikmin pushed though the grove of grass in a panicked frenzy, tripping and crawling over one another in a mad dash to reach their Onions. Growls and roars filled the air as if the planet itself was stirring awake to dine on those who dared walk its surface at night.

Though he tried, Olimar soon lost track of how many Pikmin returned in the midst of all the confusion. "Louie!" he called as the last Pikmin, a pink one with an injured wing, scurried by. "Do you know if that was all of them?"

His bumbling co-worker startled as if he had been disrupted from a daydream. "Uh... Well, it was a lot of them..."

He didn't even know why he bothered to ask. Turning away, he listened to see if anymore Pikmin were coming.

Grass rustled all around him.

Leaves were crushed underfoot.

He didn't know who was causing it. Under the mask of night, every noise heralded the approach of a predator.

"Uh, Olimar? Shouldn't we be lifting off now?" Louie asked, shuffling closer to the ship.

Olimar took a deep breath, trying to recall his movements during the day. Did he remember to gather up the Pikmin he left to harvest berries? What about the ones at the bridge? Or the electric gate? There was also that bulbear attack near the pond...

The breeze carried with it the low growl of a bulborb. He was certain it was nearby.

"Louie, get on the ship. We're leaving," he said, and Louie, visibly relieved, rushed to get on board. Olimar's steps were a lot heavier.

His ship took to the sky with a thunderous boom. Before he could breach the clouds and lose sight of the surface, some force seemed to urge him to look back at the landing site. When he did, he saw them. Three lone souls staring at him with wide scared eyes, a red, a blue, and a yellow. All around them he could see the creatures of the night moving in on them.

He turned away, tightening his grip on the wheel until his fingers went numb.

Olimar woke up shivering. The fatigue from the past day hit him first, followed by the weight of that dream. He stared at the wall of his ship, torn between the need to sleep and the fear of it. Memories like those haunted his sleep at times. Despite his precautions and his careful planning, he'd very rarely return at sunset with the same number of Pikmin he set off with. Nature was cruel and unpredictable he had learned over and over again. Yet the deaths that stung the most were the ones he could have avoided.

He knew full well why he dreamed of that incident in particular. It was all thanks to those glowing green eyes that watched him long after he had closed his own. _That one knew me..._ The more he thought about it, the more the uncomfortable truth began to sink in. _That one hated me._

Another shiver passed through him and this time he realized his blanket had gone missing.

_Munch... Munch... Munch..._

Peering over his bed, he found the source of the noise to be the sheargrub from before. Innocent and unaware, she nibbled away at the pile of threads formerly known as his blanket.

He tore it away from her. "Stop that!"

Unperturbed by his shout, the sheargrub scooted off in search to destroy some other belonging of his.

 _If only I could remember Louie's recipe for sheargrub quiche..._ He hauled himself out of bed to stop her, only to immediately regret it as every one of his muscles lit on fire, begging him to go back to sleep.

A pile of boxes sat in one of the corners of the room, housing the supplies he kept for upcoming voyages as well as leftovers from previous ones that he never got around to cleaning out. Digging through cans of veggie soup and tattered books, Olimar found an old collar and leash left behind from the time he took his dog along with on one of his family vacations. He remembered that incident clearly. His children had insisted they bring little Bulbie with for once, saying he was a part of the family and it wasn't fair to leave him behind. Well, Olimar didn't think it was fair that _he_ had to be the one to clean up after him and that _he_ had to be the one to pay for all the furniture he chewed up at the hotel they stayed at. And that was after they had to smuggle him in! Next time they had an idea like that, he'd have to put his foot down and tell them firmly that 'no means no'. They had a way of making him waver, though...

While he was reminiscing, the sheargrub had wandered over to Brittany's bed in hopes of making a meal out of her blanket as well. Olimar went over and scooped the grub up, slipped the collar around her, and tied the end of the leash to a metal pipe on the wall. With that problem solved, he turned to his bed, ready to get whatever sleep he could before morning, when he just happened to glance at his alarm clock.

6:59 a.m. Just a minute before the alarm would go off.

Life was cruel.

* * *

A veil of morning mist cloaked the valley below, obscuring any view Alph had of the area. He guided the Drake on a meandering course above, waiting until the white vapor thinned enough for him to land safely.

Felicity sat next to him on the armrest, prim and proper like a tiny fluffy princess. Her fur was soft to the touch and groomed to the point where it shined. Earlier, Charlie had decided to give her coat a good combing using the brush he normally reserved for his rubber duck (why and how you'd need to groom a rubber duck, Alph had no idea and was too afraid to ask). While he combed her, the other fluffs began to gather around, clamoring for their turn. Amused, Charlie directed them to form a line and wait their turns which they did so with eager anticipation. Now, the fluffs were enjoying some pampering, Charlie was enjoying the attention, and Alph, well...

"Ha... HA-CHOO!" Alph was not enjoying it at all.

He sniffled and rubbed at his itchy eyes. Felicity looked at him in concern and edged closer to see what was wrong.

"I-I'm fine!" Alph said, shifting away from her. "Just... Just stay where you are, okay?" He sniffled again. Of course it was just his luck he ended up being allergic to Pikmin fur. When he first started noticing he was feeling off, he went to go find his helmet to get some relief. As it turned out, Charlie was unknowingly using it to dump any loose clumps of fur in. Alph had cried a bit when he found out. Because of his allergies, of course.

"You know, Alph, maybe I should open a pet grooming business when we get back," Charlie said to him with a lighthearted grin. "I seem to have a knack for this!"

"That's real great, captain..." Alph hadn't meant to sound so insincere, but between his lack of sleep and his watery eyes, the morning's found him in a bit of a bad mood. Luckily Charlie didn't seem to take any offense and went back to his brushing. By then the mist had cleared up a bit allowing Alph to gain some vision on what was below. A slow moving river winded out of the veil like a great, milk white serpent and slithered on some ways before being swallowed by the mist again. He followed it upstream until he came across a grassy mound overlooking it. That would do. "Captain! I've found a place to land!"

At some point, Charlie had already walked up to his side. "Good, and I just finished brushing the last one, too. Oh, and by the way..." He handed Alph his helmet. "Sorry, I only just noticed I was using this to dump all the fur in. I tried cleaning it out, but it looks like there's still some stuck in there. Well, if anything, at least it'll help keep you warm!" he added with a laugh.

Alph wanted to cry again. Because of his allergies, of course.

After he settled the Drake down and the whole crew disembarked, Alph wandered over to the side of the mound facing the river. The sun was peeking over one of the hills that helped shape the valley, its light cutting through the mist and sending it fleeing. Now he could make out the flowers that coated the lowlands and crept up the lower slopes of the hills, painting the land with every color Alph cared to imagine. Spectralids were beginning to wake up and flutter about. A rare dandelfly even passed by, tempting the fluff Pikmin with the golden orbs of nectar it carried.

"I'm going to have to hand to you, Alph," Charlie said, "You picked the perfect spot to begin our search. This place looks like a Pikmin paradise!"

Alph beamed at the praise. "Aw thanks, captain." He sniffled, trying to hold back a sneeze. "So where should we head first?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, now. We still have to wait for the others."

"Oh. Right. That'd be a good idea," Alph responded bashfully and perked up his ears to listen. Somewhere in the white smoke, he could make out the churning of an engine. That only meant one thing! "Here they come right now!"

Olimar's shambling ship was easy to make out in the fading mist. Both he and Charlie waved to it as it flew towards them, right over them... and kept going.

"...And there they go," Alph finished, watching as the glowing tail of the ship disappeared into where the mist was still thick.

"Well, I suppose that answers your question, Alph," Charlie said, his hands dropping to his sides. "...We'd better go see if they're okay."

* * *

Olimar woke up with a gasp as a loud buzz sounded next to his ear. He looked up and saw a rock approaching him faster than any normal rock should. Startled, he veered the ship to the left, narrowly avoiding it. Once their flight smoothed out, he shook his head, trying to pull himself together. _Better land now while I'm still awake..._ Spotting a flat dirt patch in the shadow of a rocky cliff, he started to drift towards it.

Meanwhile, his ship decided it was a perfect time to start nagging him again. A broken voice box would not stop it, Olimar learned; it would just find other ways instead. There was a grid of light bulbs to his left that would light up every now and then when he was piloting the ship. He never really knew what they were for. Right now a group of them had lit up to form a horizontal white oval. The bulbs blinked a few times before shifting to an exclamation mark.

This had to have been the third time it did that. "I told you I tied the sheargrub up already! It's in a corner where it has nothing to chew on." Olimar guided the nose of the ship skyward and began the landing sequence. "I'll get rid of it when I get when I get back, I promise."

Three bulbs lit up in a row, one right after the other. Dot dot dot.

Olimar huffed. The ship was doubting him! "I'll remember. Now let me out of here. We have a lot of ground to cover today, and I want to get back to the others within the hour." He glanced over his shoulder, finding Brittany snoozing peacefully away in her seat.

Well, not for long, Olimar thought as he felt his own seat tremble. The glass dome covering him popped open and he was forcibly ejected out of the cockpit. He somersaulted across the ground several times before coming to rest on his rear. _And the president wonders where my 'sudden back problems' came from..._

"Ow... What was that for?" Brittany demanded. She was sprawled face first on the ground with a very dizzy Brambles on her helmet. "I was having such a nice dream..."

"Take it up with the ship. Every single piece of it is broken in some way." He had tried to fix those seats multiple times, yet somehow they always ended up busted by the next day. The ship, the snark machine that it was, told him it was because of his weight. The nerve!

"You need to get a new ship," she grumbled as she got up. "That thing's a hazard."

 _Believe me, I've been trying._ "Are the thorn Pikmin up yet?"

"Brambles barely is." With her hand, she beckoned the sleepy thorn to crawl down to her shoulder. "I don't have high hopes for the others."

"No harm in trying." At least, he hoped there wasn't. Olimar walked up to his ship and whistled for the thorns like he used to do for the purples and whites. Once the shrill noise died down, the only sound was the chugging of the engine. Not a single Pikmin answered his call. "I had a feeling they were going to be difficult..."

"Well, they're not the only ones who had to pull an all-nighter!" Brittany said, marching up to him. She turned to her Pikmin and pointed at the ship. "Brambles, go drag those lazy carrots out of bed."

He blinked drearily at her before leaving to crawl up one of the exhaust pipes. The muffled sound of squeaky voices soon echoed from inside. Gradually, the voices got louder and louder until it sounded as if a full blown argument was breaking out. A few minutes later, the pipe shook and Brittany had to step aside as Brambles got launched out in a puff of smoke. Another thorn poked its head out. It shook its fist at them, rambling something angry sounding, then disappeared back inside.

"Okay, now what?" Brittany stepped around Brambles to take a look inside the pipe. "Should I try to keep whistling until they come out?"

"No, it's best we don't overstep our boundaries with them. The last thing we need is to have them turn their claws on us." Truth be told, Olimar was a little relieved to be leaving them behind.

"I suppose. At least we have-ack!" she stumbled forward as Brambles jumped on her back. Like some sort of green, spiky cat, he circled around on her life support pack before curling up in a ball and dozing off. "W-Wait! You're not going to sleep, too!"

He sighed. "Seems like it's just going to be us, then. In that case, we'd better hurry and regroup with the others." Olimar pulled out his computer and gave it a quick glance. "It doesn't look like they're that far away. I must have accidentally passed over them because I was aslee-" he cut himself off.

Brittany blinked at him. "What were you going to say?"

"...Because the mist was so thick. I didn't see them."

"...Right. Sure."

Ignoring her doubtful tone (why was everyone so quick to doubt him this morning?), Olimar set off downhill. The mist was nothing more than a ghost lingering in the air now, transparent and fading. A shadow dancing across the ground alerted him to a spectralid passing overhead and he slowed to watch it drink from a flower. Sometimes, he longed for a chance to return to this planet with no debts or extinctions looming over his head and just observe the wildlife. Even after the crash, the harrowing encounters with giant beasts, and even the plasm wraith, Olimar found that he had grown fond of this world. This dangerous, cruel... yet strangely beautiful world.

"Olimar, what are you waiting for?" Brittany called from ahead. She must have passed him during his ponderings. "Let's hurry to the others."

"Yes, yes, I'm coming..."

It wasn't even a few minutes later when they found themselves walking along the pebbly bank of a river. A school of blinnows knifed through the water, some trailing after their shadows as if daring them to come in. Bushes rattled up where the river changed course, and Olimar motioned for Brittany to stop.

A green antenna popped through the stems, soon followed by none other than Captain Charlie. When he saw Olimar, he called out a greeting and hurried to meet him. Behind him, an entourage of what seemed like walking cottonballs fumbled out of the grass. Olimar was perplexed for a moment, then quickly noticed their stems, gray-white and tipped with golden petals. Pikmin!

"Olimar, they're adorable!" Brittany gushed.

"It's a new species we found where we crashed," Charlie explained once he reached them. "Or at least for us, they're new. I don't know if you've already met them, Captain Olimar."

"No, I haven't seen these before," Olimar said, bending down to get a closer at one of the fluffy Pikmin. It blinked owlishly at him, tilting its head. Temperament-wise, it seemed similar its peaceful, non meat eating cousins, thankfully enough. Its fur was thick and white... likely suited for arctic environments, he deduced. Their appearance reminded him of another plant he saw once, though he couldn't recall it's name at the moment. "Did you find an Onion as well?"

"...No," he answered after a moment. "Not their Onion, anyway."

Judging by his heavy tone, Olimar had a feeling he knew what they had found. The picture of the bleeding Onion in space burned in his head.

"Captain?" Brittany began uncertainly. "Was that Onion..." She stopped and shook her head. "Actually, no. I don't think I want to know. Where's Alph? Why isn't he with you?"

"What? He was just behind me..."

A thump caught everyone's attention. "I'm over here..." Alph said, picking himself up in front of the bushes Charlie had passed through.

Brittany lit up when she saw him. "There you are, Alph! I was really- Oh gosh! Are you okay?!" she exclaimed when he got closer.

"Hello, Brittany. Good to see you." Alph sniffled. His eyes were red and watery. "I think I'm allergic to their fur..."

She leaned in and put her hands on his helmet, turning it as she examined it. "Looks like there's some stuck in there. Here, you can have mine. It should be fine if we switch here. Our space suits will level out any excess oxygen that gets in, right?"

He looked away. "Y-Yeah."

"Oh, don't be embarrassed! I'm sure pink will look pretty on you!"

"So, Brittany!" Charlie interrupted them loudly. "I've been wondering. What exactly is that you're carrying on your back? Looks like a dried up twig."

"Oh, that's Brambles. He's a new species, too." She turned to let them have a better view of him.

"We had an unpleasant encounter with his kind where we landed," Olimar said. His brows furrowed as he added, "They're predators. Dangerous ones. We must be careful when we're working with them."

Alph took a step back. "Predators?! You don't mean these Pikmin eat meat, do you?"

Disturbed by Alph's outburst, Brambles lifted his head to see what was going on. Focus sharpened his eyes once he spotted the others and he crawled to the ground. An uncomfortable wave seemed to pass over the fluffs. Only one broke out of the ranks, curious about the new green Pikmin. A silence fell over everyone as it offered its hand in greeting. Brambles stared at it before raising his own.

Olimar watched the scene with baited breath. Was it possible for these Pikmin to coexist?

Brambles' hand stopped just shy of the fluff's, a thoughtful expression passing over his face. Then, quick as a striking snagret, he swiped at the fluff's body, hooking a clump of fur in his claws. It shrieked in pain and ran to Charlie for safety.

"F-Felicity! Are you okay?" He picked her up and tried to smooth out her ruffled coat. "And I spent all morning brushing it, too..."

Watching the remaining fluff Pikmin and even Alph back away in fright, Olimar knew he had the answer to his question. Though it was unfortunate Felicity got hurt, perhaps it was better they found out this way. He shuddered to imagine what might have happened had they brought the whole group of thorns with them. _Fur would have been flying everywhere, most likely..._

Aware of everyone watching him, Brambles retreated back to Brittany's shoulder. Making eye contact with Felicity, he cruelly waved at her with the hand her fur was caught up in, making her flinch.

Finally recovering from the shock of the scene, Brittany snatched the clump away from him. "No, Brambles! Bad boy!" The thorn ducked his head in response, unsure of what he did wrong.

No one said anything, but Olimar could tell by the Koppaite's expressions that they were thinking the same thought he was: was this an alliance they could afford to keep?

* * *

After a bit of discussion, the explorers came to the conclusion that splitting up would be too risky given their low Pikmin count, so they decided to stick together and sweep through the valley as a single unit.

Charlie led the charge through the grassy hillside. Dew still clung heavy to the green strands, causing even the slightest brush against one to result in a shower of beads raining down on them. The fluffs got the worst of it, their fur soaked through and clinging to their small bodies. A scent oddly reminiscent of wet dog began to permeate the air as a result.

Alph had filled Olimar and Brittany in on their current situation with the strange field surrounding the planet, neither of whom were very pleased to hear about it. To lighten the mood, Alph ended up sharing some of his other discoveries. Right now he was off to the side with Olimar, excitedly rambling on about something. "I swear it's true! It was like a perfect blend between the two species. Could you ever have imagined a creature like that existed?"

"No, Alph. Never in my wildest dreams." Olimar was wearing an amused smile. "If only I had been there to see it myself."

Bringing up the rear was Brittany, whom none of the fluff Pikmin wanted anything to do with, least of all Felicity who was keeping unwavering vigilance on her from the top of Charlie's helmet. That thorn was back to snoozing on her life support pack again. Brittany kept glancing over her shoulder at him as if worried he'd wake up and wreak havoc. Maybe this could be a good opportunity to reassure her...

"Do you hear that?" Olimar asked out of the blue.

Charlie listened. A loud, squishy sound came from ahead, similar to that of someone relentlessly chowing down on a piece of fruit.

Olimar passed by him. "I know I've heard that sound before."

"Is it danger?"

He pushed a blade of grass out of the way, then turned to him. "For once, no."

Everyone gathered around to see what was in the clearing. At least a half dozen burgeoning spiderworts grew in a circle, boasting not only red berries, but a new variety of blue ones, too.

...As well as a tangle of squirming, orange larva gorging themselves on the plant's bounty.

"Ravenous whiskerpillars," Olimar explained. "Completely harmless."

"Not to those berries, they aren't!" Brittany said, impressed by their appetites. "You know, we could really use some of those."

They watched as a whiskerpillar fell from one of the spiderworts with a thud, leaving it picked clean. It rolled onto its stomach and began to inch its way over to another plant to get a second helping. Before it could get very a far, a familiar yellow beak speared though the ground with a horrendous caw, soon followed by white feathers and blue scales. The snagret stabbed the the larva clean through its abdomen and dragged it screaming into the black depths of its tunnel.

Its surviving kin kept on snacking away without a care in the world.

"...Nature's so scary," Alph said after a long moment.

Brittany stared at the hole it left behind in annoyance. "I'm really getting sick of snagrets."

"With that thing there, harvesting those berries is too much of a risk," Olimar said. "We'll just have move on without them."

"Where exactly are we supposed to go though?" Alph asked him. "It's not like we have a signal to follow."

He brought up a good point, Charlie had to admit. They needed some focus to their search, otherwise they'd be better off finding a needle in a haystack. "Pikmin could be wandering anywhere during the day, but if they're going to survive, they'd need a place to hunker down for the night, wouldn't they?"

Olimar thought about this and nodded. "Yes. So we should pay extra attention to any caves, hollows, or anything that could be used as a shelter. It'll be much easier to find clues in those areas than hoping we randomly stumble on them in the field. Keep a look out, everyone."

Further along in their expedition, Alph indeed ended up spotting the mouth of a cave hidden behind some flowers. Its entrance was far too small to accommodate most of the planet's predators, making it a hopeful prospect for any traces of their friends. With Olimar leading the way, Charlie and Alph filed in behind, followed by their Pikmin and finally Brittany, who still brought up the rear. Thin tan roots dangled from the roof of the cave by the dozens, sometimes catching someone by the stem or antenna. Sheargrubs burrowed in and out of the dirt. Aside from them, the place showed little signs of life.

They eventually came across a wide open space with a much higher ceiling. Halfway up, Charlie saw another tunnel leading deeper into the cave, though it looked impossible to reach. The only path to it stretched out across the upper perimeter of the room and lead to a dead end. A metal grating now replaced the ground, concealing beneath it four rusted blades. Olimar tested the grating's stability, nodding to the others to follow when he decided it was safe.

Alph walked in with shaky steps, wincing at each metallic creak he caused. "What in the world is that contraption down there?"

"Reminds me of a juicer..." Brittany responded. She shivered right after at the thought.

Olimar pondered the contraption for only a few moments before turning his attention to the rest of the room. "No signs here, either..." he said more to himself than the others.

With this discovery, Charlie wouldn't blame any Pikmin for not wanting to stay here. While the blades were flat and rounded at the edges, they still lingered below like hungry jaws waiting for a meal. He knew he wouldn't sleep easy with those beneath him. Glancing around just in case, he noticed an odd sight poking out from behind a protrusion of rock. He didn't know how else to describe it other than it looked to be a floating ball of stationary fire... But that's crazy! "I'm going to go investigate over there," he told everyone.

An unnatural glimmer seemed to pulse through the frozen fireball as he drew near it. Felicity hummed, curious about the strange object in front of her, but Charlie felt uneasy. He turned the corner, looking up.

A pair of eyes stared down at him.

He stumbled back with a startled yell. "G-Giant! It's a giant!"

The others ran over to see what was wrong, only to utter similar cries when they saw who was waiting.

The giant's body was clothed in blue overalls and a red shirt. A hat embroidered with an alien symbol sat on its head, matching his shirt in color. In front of it, the fireball trailed along as if guided by its hand. It stood still, not staring at him like Charlie first thought, but determinedly ahead at something unseen from on top his golden perch. Statue. It was just a statue.

"I've collected a lot of artifacts from this planet," Olimar started once the realization hit him as well, "but I've never seen one like this."

"Look! There's another one up on the cliff," Alph pointed out. The statue in question stood off to the side of the tunnel and looked about five seconds away from falling over. Clothing wise, it was similar to its brother, only wearing green instead of red. This outfit obviously must have held some cultural significance to these people.

"That one really lacks the presence its brother has," Olimar said. "I didn't even notice it when I came in. Probably not worth as much." He ran his hand across the red statue's base, disappointment falling over his features when he realized it wasn't gold. "It's still an important discovery, though. This could be our first glimpse of what the natives looked like before they presumably died out."

"Since they're just statues, it's probably safe to say they're not to scale," Brittany added in. "Imagine if they really were that big!"

The mystery of the statues captured the curiosity of both the Pikmin and explorers. Two fluffs stood on its base, one pointing out the fireball and chattering about it to the horror of its companion. Meanwhile, Alph was busy taking pictures of them, telling Brittany about how his siblings had gotten mad at him for not taking enough during his last trip. Charlie walked around the red giant, taking in its appearance. Though Olimar said otherwise, he thought he rather preferred the green fellow on the cliff. _He has a respectable taste in fashion. And that mustache! That is a mustache of a man who's not to be trifled with._ He was almost jealous of it.

He found Olimar standing behind the statue, examining a sort of switch embedded into the ground. It was a white square, hardly reaching past his feet in height, and nestled into rectangular hole that looked specially made for it. "Do you think that's part of that contraption down there?"

Olimar nodded. "And I think I understand what it does. The blades are attached to that device in the middle... Most likely designed to rotate them... Hmm." Glancing at the fluff Pikmin for a moment, he whistled to get everyone's attention. "Get off the grating, everyone. I'm going to test something." He waited until all feet were on solid ground before putting both hands on the switch. Ignoring the inquisitive stares on him, he pushed it as far as it would go.

The room shuddered. Below the grate, the metal blades spurred to life with a terrible creak. Dirt slid off their surfaces as they began to turn, rapidly increasing in speed until it produced an air current with the strength of a hurricane. Charlie struggled to keep his footing as the ground rocked beneath him.

"Olimar, what are you doing?!" Brittany yelled over the roaring wind.

He hardly seemed to hear her. "Too much force. Maybe if I adjust it a bit..." He went over to the other side and pushed it back a few notches. The blades slowed in response, weakening the current until it was nothing more than a gentle breeze. "That should work."

"Work for what?!" Her voice was still high with incredulity. Brambles crawled on her shoulder, glaring at the Hocotation. Whether he was mad at him for disturbing his sleep or for upsetting Brittany, Charlie wasn't sure.

"When I saw those Pikmin for the first time, they reminded of a native plant I saw once." Seeing that he had Brittany's attention, Olimar continued, "The seeds they bore were attached to fluffy white tufts. When the wind picked up, they'd dislodge and get carried far away, floating on the breeze."

"So you wanted to see if the Pikmin could ride the wind current?" Alph asked. "It could work. They are pretty light."

This time, Charlie decided to take initiative and test the grating. He couldn't help but note how much hungrier the metal blades looked now that they were awake. "It's shaking a bit from the vibrations, but otherwise it feels stable."

The Pikmin only looked on as the three leaders left to join Charlie. Felicity waved over to them, giving them some words of encouragement. One fluff came forward to test the waters. When its foot touched the grating, its eyes squeezed shut as the force of the wind met its face and ruffled its fur. With each step, it took all it could not to be blown away. The little fluff held strong though, and soon the whole group was following the leaders to the ledge on the other side of the room. Olimar was the first to give one a toss and, just as he suspected, the wind propelled it up and up, farther than even a yellow could be thrown. Once it safely landed on the ledge, the rest of its kind followed behind it. After the last one had been thrown, Olimar directed the Pikmin to join hands and lower themselves down to give them a way up. Everything seemed to be working out smoothly.

Until the chain of Pikmin stopped halfway down the cliff.

"We don't have enough..." Alph said.

Olimar gave a weary sigh. "It was worth a try. Brittany, could you turn off the device? We need to get them down."

"Wait!" Charlie cut in. "After all that, we're just giving up?"

"There's not much else we can do, is there? And it's not like this cave was holding much promise to begin with. There hasn't been a single sign of habitation, from Pikmin or otherwise."

Still, Charlie hated the idea of leaving the cave half way in. What if there _were_ Pikmin waiting for them further in? The thought would bother him to no end. He looked around for any other way they could get up there. Eventually his sights fell on the leaning man in green. "We could use him. Look at the way he's standing! If we have the Pikmin push him off the cliff, he'd form a ramp for us to get up. We'd be able to reach them easily then."

"Push him off? That would probably damage the treasure! There's no reason to break it when the cave's proving to be a dead end."

"Is it the treasure you're concerned about or the Pikmin? I say if there's even a small chance we could find them here, then we should keep investigating! Isn't that right?" he asked Alph and Brittany, his loyal crew whom he knew he could always count on to stand by and support him.

They both took a step back, not wanting to have any part in it.

...Okay, he was really going to need to have a talk with them one of these days.

"The treasure isn't my main concern. I just don't think there's any reason to waste what little time we have exploring this cave." Olimar's voice was hard. "But if you insist, we can keep going."

Maybe he had gone a little too far, but it was too late to take it back now. Instead Charlie put his plan in motion and directed the Pikmin over to the statue. The green man's leaning posture only served to make it that much easier for them to tip him over. As he leaned further over the edge, Charlie thought he saw a small glitter escape from the man's eye. The next moment, the man was lying face first on the grate, the resulting impact breaking his nose off and sent it rolling to a stop in front of Olimar's feet.

He gave it a little kick, unimpressed. "Well, whatever value it might have had, it's gone now." Looking to Charlie, he added, "Go ahead and lead the way, then."

* * *

Olimar silently fumed to himself during their trek up the tunnel. How dare Charlie insinuate that he cared more for the treasures than for the Pikmin... He just didn't like the idea of damaging them for hopeless endeavors. There weren't any Pikmin living in this cave, that much he was certain. No footprints, no drawings, no nests, no signs of life. At least the path was leading up towards a few thin strands of daylight. He was afraid it would lead even deeper, possibly to a dead end. It would have taken them most of the day to work their way to the beginning again and that was time he didn't want to waste.

Silence had fallen over the group as they walked, outside of the occasional yelp or scolding coming from the back of the line. Alph had slowed down to give Brittany some much needed company, though things weren't going very well for them. Brambles kept lashing out at Alph whenever he got just a hair too close. Brittany would yell at the Pikmin to behave, but her words fell on deaf ears. Whenever Alph got in range, which was often with how cramped the tunnel was, out came the claws. It was all the two Koppaites could do but exchange exasperated looks with each other.

The end of the tunnel came upon them without warning. One moment all was dim with a faint promise of light awaiting ahead, the next moment the sky was sprawling above them, bright blue without a trace of night to be seen. It couldn't have been more than two hours since they first entered the cave, though it felt longer. For some reason, to Olimar time on the surface always seemed to slow to a halt whenever he explored underground, as silly as it sounded.

He saw the valley far below, perfectly flat and nestled in the cradle of the land. The cave had taken them quite a ways up the hillside.

"Looks like there wasn't much to be found in there after all..." Charlie remarked, disappointed.

Olimar didn't say anything. He walked past the other captain, careful to keep his footing on the sloping terrain, and tried to get a sense of where they were. The fanning petals of the flowers made it hard to see, but he managed to find the entrance they went through at the base of the hill. Not far from it was the ring of spiderwort plants, the very sight of which sent an icy chill through him.

Dead in the center of the ring, the snagret stood with its head facing the sky, beak parted in a silent scream, and its body contorted as if in pain. A shell of gray stone encased its entire being, turning it into nothing more than a statue.

Perched on their plants, the whiskerpillars continued to eat their berries in peace.


	8. Something Familiar

"I thought you said they were harmless!" Charlie was the first to speak.

"They're supposed to be..." Olimar answered, putting his hand to his chin in confusion. "While the juice of those blue berries can cause petrification in large doses, the whiskerpillar's stomach acids neutralizes their effects. Any animals that prey on them shouldn't experience any harm. Unless some evolution took place since they were last observed, the culprit must have been something else... Whatever it was, we're definitely not alone in this valley."

_We're not alone..._ Alph tore his gaze away from the snagret's warped form. Frozen in that state, its final moments were laid bare for him to see. _It looks so scared... It must have been aware what was happening to it, but it couldn't do anything to stop it._ He couldn't imagine how terrifying it must have been. Whoever the culprit was, he hoped with all his heart they wouldn't encounter it. Disappearing Pikmin, mysterious barriers, and now wildlife turning to stone… There was too much to worry about!

Much to his relief, the group was quick to put some distance between them and the snagret, setting off down a dirt path flanked by flowers.

As the time ticked by, Alph could feel some of the tension draining from the air. Olimar left Charlie to lead the way in favor of falling back to observe the new Pikmin, taking out his computer to jot a few notes down with. Alph had to wonder what he was writing down. He had only just met them! He debated on whether or not to ask, eventually deciding to just stay put and keep watch, only to notice an oddity with his helmet. He tilted his head experimentally, watching as a white cloud, just barely visible out of the corner of his eye, moved with him and blurred his vision. Frowning, he tried to wipe it away with his hand. He hated smudges. Once he noticed one, he couldn't _stop_ noticing it until it was cleaned off. To his frustration, the blemish refused to budge, as if it were etched right on to his helmet. In fact, he was certain he could feel indentations under his fingers...

"No, I'm not writing that!" Olimar said just loud enough to catch Alph's attention. "That's completely childish."

Beside him, Brittany huffed. "Oh, have a little fun, why don't you?"

During the exchange, Brambles grumbled and crawled over to Brittany's other shoulder, the one further from Olimar.

"I think I'll just ask Alph or Charlie for their thoughts later," Olimar responded. "As the discoverers of the species, I'm sure they'll have some _useful_ insights to share."

Brittany folded her arms, catching the slight against her in his comment. "You grump."

After Olimar walked out of earshot, Alph approached her. "You asked him to write something silly didn't you?"

"More like a valid observation!" She tried to look serious, but her facade quickly shattered as she broke down in giggles. "Okay, it was a little silly, I'll admit."

On their previous expedition, Alph had read through all of the notes Brittany had written on the flora, including the Pikmin, if they even fitted under that category. While they were often informative, he noticed she'd occasionally throw a playful line here and there, often about how cute something was. He smiled in amusement imagining someone like Olimar doing the same. "Captain Olimar seems like a pretty serious person, though."

"I guess. He has a sense of humor, but it's about as dry as a dusk pustule that's been left out in the sun for too long." She yawned and changed the subject. "Speaking of which, it's nice to see the sun again. If I had to spend another second in that cave…"

"You don't like caves?" Alph asked, a little surprised. He thought she seemed pretty composed during their time down there.

"Hate 'em. They're always so dark and cramped. It's kinda suffocating. I'd just rather be outside. Y'know, out in the open air." She rubbed at her helmet regretfully. "Well, as close to it as we can get, anyway."

The movement reminded Alph of the cloudy spot on his own helmet. "By the way, do you think you could do me a favor?" He stepped closer, an action that caused Brambles to retreat back to her other shoulder. At least he wasn't trying to swipe at him again. "I think there's a smudge on my helmet, but I can't get it to come off. Do you think you could help?" He turned his head for her to see.

Her face darkened at the sight. "Alph," she started out slowly, "that's not a smudge. Those are claw marks."

"Wh-What? Claw marks? But I don't remember my helmet getting-" Alph stopped. This wasn't his helmet. "Is this from last night?"

"...Yeah."

"...A thorn Pikmin?"

"They're... very vicious for their size," she said uncomfortably. "In the end, I guess we're lucky we only walked away with a scratched up helmet. It could have ended up a lot worse."

"'A lot worse?' Brittany, what do you mean by that?"

She sighed. "It's fine, Alph. Neither of us got hurt in the end."

_I don't think it's fine at all..._ Alph studied her for a moment. She wore a troubled expression, a frown tugging at her lips as she watched Brambles' antisocial nature manifest itself in a glare directed at him. He noticed the thorn gripped the material of her suit tightly, and Alph worried it was hurting her. "You don't think they're safe to have around, do you?"

She met his gaze, her eyes uncertain. "Oh, Alph, I really don't know. I understand Olimar's reasoning for keeping them. Without any Onions, the Pikmin population will only go down from here on out. The thorns are different though. They can keep their numbers stable, and I bet they can fend off most predators without much problem. It's just… well, you saw what he did to Felicity."

"If they're that dangerous, we shouldn't have them around."

Brittany shook her head and walked on. "There's _a lot_ of dangerous things on this planet, Alph," he heard her say.

_What's that supposed to mean? Of course there are!_ He ran his fingers along the deep grooves in his helmet, his eyes falling on Brambles. As if sensing him, the thorn lazily turned his head to meet his gaze, and Alph shuddered.

* * *

The next few hours passed uneventfully with few encounters with any wildlife, let alone any Pikmin. The quiet did little to quell Alph's nervousness. _I don't know which is worse, knowing about a dangerous creature but not where it is, or knowing_ exactly _where it is and not being able to do anything about it_ , he thought as he scaled the incline of a pointed rock.

Wind - a cool wind, he imagined - wound through the valley, turning the flowers on the opposite hill into a living ocean of color that rippled and swayed. Curiously, a cloud of water vapor rose from the center of it all, its source hidden from sight. He wondered if that had contributed to all the mist that had built up in the predawn hours.

Nonetheless the sight calmed him, and he yawned and plopped down at the top of his rock, looking around for anything suspicious like Olimar asked him to do. Further along down the path they were following, he noticed a light brown, box-like structure resting on a sheet checkered with red and white. A ruins, maybe? Beyond it, he could make out the entrance to a cave carved out in the hillside. Making a metal note of both of them, he turned his sights back to the way they had came. All seemed peaceful and quiet with a few spectralids darting about here and there. Reassured that nothing had followed them, he left to regroup with the others, feeling much better than he did before.

Once he met up with them, he relayed what he had seen from his vantage point.

Olimar nodded, mulling over the information as he checked the position of the sun. "If they're not too far apart, then I say we split into two groups and investigate both areas at once to save some time. After that, we'll need to start doubling back."

"In that case," Charlie said, "Brittany! Why don't you and I go check out that cave together?"

"Then I suppose Alph and I will go and investigate the other site," Olimar concluded.

Alph turned to note Brittany's reaction to the arrangement and found that she looked none too pleased with it. As he glanced between her and Charlie, the realization came crashing down on him. _Wow, she must_ really _hate caves! Maybe I should do something…_ "Captain! I have another idea!" he said, shooting his hand in the air like he was in a classroom.

Both the captains and Brittany turned their heads towards him, surprised he had spoken up. Alph felt a nervous flutter in his stomach from the sudden attention. "Why don't Brittany and I go and investigate the ruins while you and Captain Olimar check out the cave?"

Charlie narrowed his eyes at him. "What's this about? There's nothing wrong with the way we arranged it. And it doesn't make a lick of sense to keep both captains in the same group! Who are we supposed to order around? Each other?"

"W-Well…" Alph faltered, taken aback by the harsh tone in Charlie's voice. _I didn't expect him to get so worked up…_

"And I'm quite interested in these 'ancient ruins' you found," Olimar added, looking exasperated with the whole conversation. "But if it means so much to you…"

"Don't side with him! This is a challenge to our authority!"

"Well, in that case, why don't you take me with you, captain?" Alph said to Charlie. "Then Brittany and Captain Olimar can go to the ruins."

Charlie shook his head, dismissing the idea. "Enough of this. Listen, Alph. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but it is. The captain gives out orders to keep everyone organized and safe, and all it takes is one person to step out of line to put everyone in danger-"

"Captain," Brittany stepped in, "No one's in danger here. And it really isn't a big deal."

He stumbled a bit. "It… It is if it becomes a habit! And it's not going to, is that clear, Alph?"

Now Alph really did feel like he was in a classroom, getting scolded by the teacher. "Crystal…"

Both captains went to sort out the Pikmin, splitting the already pitifully small squad into two pitifully smaller squads, leaving Alph to dwell on Charlie's strange reaction. Never had he seen him get so worked up over something, and especially not over one of his orders getting questioned. In fact, he was sure the captain had said once that it was good to take initiative sometimes. _Maybe it was because I questioned him in front of another captain… Oh no, that's what it is, isn't it? I must have hurt his reputability!_ He hoped Charlie would forgive him for stepping out of line. _I'll just explain the situation later. I'm sure he'll understand…_

"Alph?" Brittany started, hesitant. "What exactly were you trying to do?"

Alph turned to find her staring at him curiously. He swallowed to clear the sudden dryness in his throat. Was she mad, too? "You looked upset when the captain asked you to go with him, and I figured it was because of the cave. I thought I could help get you of out having to go there."

"Oh, so that's the reason. I see." Brittany paused, and he figured she was trying to work out what to say next. When she did speak, her words were gentle, yet somehow held a hardness to them. "If there's something bothering me, I'll speak up about it on my own. You don't have to get all caught up in my problems."

He winced as if he had been stricken. "It's not like I think you can't stand up for yourself. It's just… Well, how do I put it… I just don't like seeing you unhappy."

She blinked, and he knew he said too much.

"W-We'd better go join the others." He turned, hoping he could get away before she responded.

She did though. "But you know, it was really considerate of you to think of me like that. I appreciate it."

Was that sincere, or was she just pitying him? He chanced a glance back at her.

She was smiling at him, a warm, genuine smile that made his heart race.

Meanwhile, Brambles was trying to murder him with his eyes.

But Alph didn't let that stop him from smiling back.

* * *

Alph trailed after Olimar in a bit of a daze. He knew he was being silly and irresponsible for getting all caught up in his developing crush for his crewmate, but it was so hard to pull his mind away from it. _It was a nice little moment, but now it's done and over with. No more thinking about her! We have a mission to accomplish! I'll just have to focus on something else..._ The first thing that popped into his head was his confrontation with Charlie and the guilt that came with it. _Okay maybe not that._ The next thing he thought of was how Brittany had left him feeling all warm and gooey inside, like the jam-stuffed center of a crescent roll. All right, nevermind responsibility. He liked that feeling a little too much to let it go. Not only was it pleasant, but that simile sounded delicious.

"Do you have crescent rolls on Hocotate?" he absently asked Olimar.

He gave him a funny look. "So did you finally come back from your trip through space? I've called your name at least four times now," he responded, making Alph flush in embarrassment. "I suppose if you really must know, we don't have anything called 'crescent rolls,' but we have lunar rolls. They're pastries stuffed with Pikpik carrot puree. They're a real classic." He went on to rapturously describe one. "The outer layer is crisp and crunchy while the inner layers are made of soft, airy dough, and you never know what color puree you're going to get until you reach the center. Not only does the flavor change, but it brings about this sort of childish excitement when you see what your color is, making them very enjoying to eat."

"...Oh. Sounds real interesting."

What Olimar said next terrified him. "Oh, is that so? Then you'll have to try some. In fact, I'm sure I have some dough hidden in the ship's freezer. I had a favor to ask of you regarding it, by the way. If you don't mind, would you report to my ship at sunset? It's in quite a need for repairs. The voicebox is chewed through, the hinges on the exploration pod are stuck in place, among other things. It's too much for me to get done on my own in any timely fashion."

"Understood! I'll be there! And, um, I don't mind working for free. So don't feel like you need to repay me with anything like, say, pastries for example."

What Olimar said next horrified him. "There's no reason to be worried; I learned plenty about baking from my wife. The key is not to burn them." And to himself, he muttered, "I'm sure I'll get it right this time."

Alph remained silent until they reached the ruins, afraid he'd get roped into trying more Hocotatian treats if he opened his mouth again.

The closer they got to their destination, the more the plants began to thin out. It made it easy to spot one particular flower, completely unique compared to all others around it, and so beautiful that he, Olimar, and even the Pikmin stopped to stare. Two sets of petals made up the flower. One was a yellow set of modest size, while the other set comprised of four giant petals that fanned far out from the center. A network of black veins danced along their surfaces, in between which pools of royal purple formed.

Alph craned his head to stare at it as he passed, causing him to bump into Olimar.

The Hocotatian looked over his shoulder at him. "Careful. All of your spacing out is starting to remind me of Louie."

_That kind of hurt a bit…_

"Anyways, we're here," Olimar went on, and Alph peered around him.

He found that the ruins appeared to be woven together by strands of a thin, wood-like material. Large paper discs were spread out across the checkered cloth, some possessing various food items, others having only a few crumbs dusted on top of them. In the middle of it all, a pair of creatures with thick, brown hides and cream colored muzzles were having an intense battle over a dough ring coated in white powder. They both gripped one of its sides in their maws, snorting and grunting what had to have been obscenities at each other.

Neither Olimar nor the Pikmin seemed too concerned with them, though they kept their distance from the skirmish. Alph followed their lead and turned his attention back to the paper discs, regret filling him as he discovered the skeletal remains of a dusk pustule stem on top of one. "Food, food everywhere and not a bite to eat."

Olimar gave him a disproving glance. "What are you talking about? There's plenty here." He took in the buffet laid out in front of them, finding a special interest in a brown pastry. It had three tiers to it: two rounded and smooth shells for its top and bottom with a cream filling between them. "If only I wasn't on a diet…"

Alph thought it looked like mud.

"Ah, that's right," Olimar said, reading his expression. "I'd forgotten how fussy Koppaites were. You'd write something off without even bothering to try it first. Don't you ever stop to think that you might be missing out on a lot of good foods that way?"

"What's the point of trying something if I know I won't like it?" he countered.

"You bunch are even worse than my son when it comes to food." Olimar shook his head and walked onto the cloth, and Alph thought that would be the end of that. Until Olimar spoke again, "Alph, you said you managed to recover a vegetable, didn't you?"

"Yes," Alph said slowly, wary of the sudden shift in conversation. "It wasn't my intention, but I ended up bringing one to the Drake. Why?"

"I just had an idea. If you'd like, you can go ahead and take my place in cataloging all of our discoveries. It would certainly take some work off of my shoulders."

Alph thought it over. It would mean a bit of extra work, but it did sound like fun. Studying alien artifacts left behind from a lost civilization? That would pique the curiosity of most anyone. _I wonder why he's offering so suddenly? Well, I suppose I shouldn't question it. This is a great opportunity!_ "I wouldn't mind at all. But what am I supposed to do?"

"Oh, don't worry. I'll give you a full run down of the job later."

For some reason, the tone of his voice made Alph feel like he had just made a decision he'd come to regret.

The two quarreling beasts snapped away from the other, each holding a half of the pastry wheel in their maws. They both jumped to their feet and plodded away happily with their prizes.

Alph stepped to the side to let one pass. "What is that thing anyway?"

"A breadbug. They're opportunistic scavengers. Fairly harmless as long as you don't get in the way of its food," Olimar rattled off as if he were reciting a line from a field guide. In fact, Alph wouldn't have been surprised if he had actually authored one. "Now let's get searching before they come back. They may not be very dangerous, but their constant snorting gives me a headache."

They did a full sweep of the blanket, checking each platter and each piece of food, and the Pikmin even checked under the crumbs just to be sure. Observing how everything was laid out, Olimar came up with a theory that the ruins once served as a shrine of worship and that the platters of food were set as offerings to the gods. Hearing this, Alph sadly returned the cupid's grenade he had found back to its original spot inside a metal scoop, not wishing to be stricken down by any divine fury today.

"That just leaves the ruins themselves," Alph said as they gathered in the middle of the blanket, empty handed.

"Hold on, we only have nine Pikmin. We're missing one." Olimar was about to whistle for it when a Pikmin nudged his side and pointed it out.

On top of one of the platters stood a bedraggled looking fluff, its fur matted and full of bits of twigs and leaves. The petals on its crooked stem had taken on a sickly pale yellow. The fluff eased itself down to the ground, grumbling and rubbing its back.

"Captain Charlie must have missed that one when he was grooming them this morning," Alph said, feeling sorry for it. "That one's a mess."

The elder Pikmin hobbled back to join the others, roughly shoving a few that got in its way.

"Cantankerous thing." Olimar eyed up a box of wooden javelins, at least that's what he had theorized they were, then turned to Alph. "Would you go ahead and investigate the ruins? I think I have an idea to help this one out."

Alph nodded and made for the ruins. Two giant doors made up one of its sides, one of which was propped open just enough that he could slip inside. The first sight that greeted him was yet another plate of alien cuisine: a slab of meat sandwiched between two white, spongy... whatever-they-weres. One of the wooden javelins sprouted from the top of the spongy material - _were_ they sponges?- and speared through a green ball with a red center. Alph gave it one good look before turning his nose up at it and walking further in.

The other half of the box was blocked off by a glass cylinder filled with water and another dish similar to the first, only this one looked significantly more monstrous. Wooden spears poked out of it at every angle, and this time two of them pierced through the green balls, giving it an appearance of an angry red eyed beast. Alph approached it cautiously, almost afraid that it actually was one. A tentative tug on one of the sticks provoked no response from the food beast, and, more confident, he climbed on top of it.

"This looks like the work of an intelligent creature..." he muttered as he walked across it.

At the back of the ruins, sunlight snaked through the gaps in the woven walls, and Alph stopped to admire the architectural design. Maybe Olimar was right about it being a shrine. He really did feel like he was walking on sacred grounds. Sacred, spongy grounds. A pillar of light came to rest on a small, white plastic tub filled with scraps of soft textured paper. Alph hopped down, his feet making a thunk against the wooden floor. The paper scraps inside the nest shuffled in response.

His excitement grew the closer he got to it. The tub wasn't much bigger than he was, and there were few things he could think of that could fit in it. "Hello?"

This time, he heard a low whimper and the tub tipped away from him. Worried, Alph ran over to it as it collided with the ground.

A pink form thrashed about in the pile of scraps. Its violet petals and colorization made it easy to identify as a winged Pikmin, even without needing to see the wings it was named after. Any joy Alph might have had in the discovery died before he had a chance to register it as the Pikmin's thrashing grew more violent and its whimpers more panicked. Its cloudy blue eyes betrayed its confusion and pain, and in that moment Alph knew the Pikmin was seriously ill. He tentatively reached out towards it. "A-Are you okay?"

It batted his hand away and scuffled back from him.

Alph rubbed his stinging wrist, shocked by the rejection. "Do you not recognize me?" he asked, keeping his voice soft. He stepped closer. It snapped at him in its strange language. No longer knowing what to do, Alph tried to whistle, hoping it would recognize the sound through its feverish haze.

The Pikmin froze up at the noise. It stared at him, frantically shaking its head and backing further away. In a flash, it leapt onto one of the ridges in the woven wall, trying to squeeze through the gap. Alph jumped into action, grabbing the Pikmin around the middle before it could escape and fly away. He pulled it close to him. It struggled in his grasp, weak and feeble, but desperate. As he tried to calm it, Alph heard a crack, followed by a sound similar to dust scattering across the floor. "Please, stop!" he pleaded. "I'm not here to hurt you!"

The Pikmin's struggles grew weaker, its fever overtaking it, until it finally lost consciousness. Alph loosened his grip on it, letting it lie flat on its stomach in his palms. He took a calming breath to ease himself. "I don't know what's wrong with you, but I promise Captain Olimar and I are here to help you."

It squirmed and whimpered. Alph wondered if it was trying to get away from him even in its dreams. One of its wings fluttered in a frenzy, while the other remained unnaturally still. The blood drained from his face when he saw why.

A layer of stone clung to one of its delicate wings. Its edges were no longer rounded and smooth, but jagged and sharp from chunks that had broken off. A scattering of gray dust and tiny stone shards were gathered at his feet.

"Alph?" he heard Olimar call out for him. "What's going on in there?"

Alph swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat to yell. "C-Captain Olimar! I need help!"

* * *

Brittany noticed that Brambles had calmed down tremendously since they had split off from Olimar's group. He no longer dug his claws into her shoulder in nervous tension, a change, while peculiar, she was grateful for. Now growing tired from lack of sleep, he only spared enough energy to cast a few hungry looks at the fluff Pikmin, and otherwise remained indifferent to Charlie's presence altogether. She only wished she could say the same for the captain himself. He had tried to strike up several conversations with her - the topics ranging from their lives back home to the ever popular 'So how's the weather?'- all of which died within a minute. None of them seemed to have stricken him with the same sense of awkwardness that she had been left feeling, which only made her even more annoyed with him. _But I had to face him sooner or later…_

Caught up in another awkward lull of silence, Brittany let her thoughts slip back to the little incident Alph had caused.

His interruption had startled her, and at first she worried over what his intentions were. Charlie was always using his role as captain to try and create situations where she had to spend extra time together with him, thinking that would somehow make her fall for him. She had grown weary of such childish behavior, and if Alph's suggestion had similar intentions behind it… Well, the last thing she wanted to be was a rope in a stupid game of tug of war.

But no. Alph had just been trying to look out for her. Though she didn't approve of someone speaking for her when she was perfectly capable of doing it herself, his concern left her feeling warm.

She saw Charlie's arm shoot out in front of her, and she stopped smoothly behind it.

He nodded his head toward the growth of plants to their right. They were rustling. "There's something following us."

Her mind flashed back to the dead snagret and she readied herself for the worse. Brambles buried his claws into her arm in anticipation.

A large, brown-furred mammal hopped out of the plants. Its oblong ears and lack of any forearms reminded her of the creature she overheard Alph describing - a rabbid, was it? Aside from the color of its fur and the flowers woven lovingly through it, it matched the description perfectly.

Brambles squealed in terror at the sight of the furry beast and dove into Brittany's arms, burying his face into her shoulder. She gasped at the sudden movement.

"Don't worry, Brittany," Charlie said, mistaking her gasp as one of fright. "I'll scare it off for you." He stepped forward and tried to shoo it away with his arms. Felicity mimicked his movements. "Go on!" he yelled. "Get out of here you furry menace!"

The bunny jumped at the noise and took a step back, ready to bolt. When it noticed Charlie, its posture relaxed. It twisted its head and began to lick its fur.

The gesture seemed to offend Charlie. "H-Hey. You're not ignoring me, are you?"

The bunny did not respond.

For it was, indeed, ignoring him.

Mad (and slightly hurt), he blared his whistle to get its attention.

Its snapped its head towards them, its nose wrinkling in what seemed to be annoyance, before leaning down and scooping an earful of mud.

Felicity's eyes widened and she jumped off Charlie's helmet just in time to avoid getting taken down along with him.

The bunny rubbed its ears together like it was dusting them off, then turned and went on its way.

Brittany looked at Charlie, now covered in mud and laid out on the ground. Felicity was at his side, torn between wanting to help him up and not wanting to get her fur dirty. Brittany decided poor Brambles needed more help. Patting the quivering thorn on the back, she told it, "There, there, Brambles. Don't cry. The big bad bunny beast is gone now."

He looked up at her with pathetic, watery eyes, and she had to bite her tongue to keep herself from laughing. The apex predator of the Forgotten Sanctuary was scared of a fluffy bunny. She couldn't believe it.

With a sigh, Charlie pushed himself up, wiping the mud off his helmet. "I suppose there are worse things it could have thrown at me."

Feeling a bit bad for him, Brittany said, "At least you still managed to run it off in the end." _Even if it was just because you were annoying it._

Her comment seemed to cheer him up. He led the way once more, joking about how the rabbites must have had it out for him, to which she responded that she was beginning to feel the same way about snagrets. It was almost like a normal conversation, to her complete and utter shock.

When they came upon the cave, they found it to be shallow in depth. Curved walls arched to form a root-laden roof, and scattered on the ground were shiny, silver tubes that leaked colorful goo from their nozzles. A slender instrument with a polished wooden handle lay parallel to one of the walls, its bushy black tip half covered in blue goo.

Brittany entered the cave warily. A sharp, sour scent wormed its way through her suit's filters and she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I don't think anything would want to live here."

If Charlie even noticed the smell, he didn't show any signs. "We won't know for sure until we've done a thorough check. Looks like there's a way that leads deeper inside, too." He pointed out the open end of a metal pipe embedded in the wall.

"Do we even have time to check it out? We're supposed to be heading back soon."

"We'll be quick. It's just to see where it leads. Although…" He put his hand near his chin. "There's still a dangerous creature roaming about. For all we know it could very well be lurking inside."

Brittany doubted there was anything lurking in that tiny pipe.

Charlie straightened up, putting his hands on his hips. "Of course, if there's danger waiting ahead, then it's the captain's duty to charge straight into it!"

"...I think you could have worded that better. A lot better."

"Well, you know what I meant…" More seriously he added, "Brittany, you stay here and make sure we didn't overlook anything while I go scope out the situation up ahead."

_This is just a big show of bravado, isn't it?_ Still, she wasn't to keen on exploring any deeper than she had to. "Got it. Good luck down there, captain."

Pleased with that, he turned around, taking only a few steps when he paused and turned to the loyal fluff Pikmin at his side. "Oh, right. Felicity! I couldn't possibly endanger you either. Why don't you stay here and help Brittany look around?" He gestured to the rest of the cave with a wide sweep of his arm to give the Pikmin a better idea of what he was trying to say.

The Pikmin tilted her head in confusion, watching as he led the rest of the fluffs into the pipe.

Once he disappeared, Brittany felt a weight lift from her shoulders. Quite literally. "Huh? Brambles? What are you doing?!"

She saw the thorn scamper away to her right, not going after the inattentive fluff Pikmin like she feared, but rather to one of the shiny tubes. When she followed him, the silver surface of the tube shimmered in response to the light of her antenna. Brambles stared on in wonder.

"You're weird."

He paid no mind to her and jumped onto the tube, his weight causing it to spit out a glob of red goop. It startled him at first, then his eyes grew wide with curiosity and he jumped down to investigate.

Another whiff of that sharp scent passed by Brittany's nose and she figured the ooze was to blame. The knowledge only added to her horror when Brambles plunged his hands into it. _You don't even know what that is!_

He pulled his hands out, delighted to see that they were painted red as well. Spotting the wooden instrument, he ran over and pressed his hands to it, humming when they left marks behind.

Gross smell aside, Brittany found the whole display to be rather cute. _He's like an excited little kid fingerpainting for the first time._ Her amusement faded in an instant when he approached her and tried to grab her hands. She pulled away from him. "Careful! I don't want any of that on me."

He stepped back from her and instead pointed to the red goop.

She shook her head. "No, I am not sticking my hands into who-knows-what-that-is!"

His stem fell.

She was pretty sure her heart fell with it. "Well, it can't be too dangerous if you're willing to put your bare hands into it. I guess it couldn't hurt." The goo reminded her a lot of paint, and the thought helped ease her even though she knew that couldn't possibly be. _On what planet would anyone put paint in a_ tube?It just wasn't right. What also wasn't right was the possible fashion disaster she'd have on her hands if she picked the wrong color! She had to be careful. _I suppose the red isn't too far away in hue. When paired right, red and pink make a nice compliment to each other, actually. There are worse colors out there. Like green. But then it'd look like I'm trying to copy Olimar's style…_ _Hmmmm._ She glanced around, weighing her options. A tube leaking pink goo caught her attention and she made her choice right there. _That's perfect!_

Brambles looked disappointed she had picked the same color she wore, but brightened when she left her handprints next to his own. He vocalized his happiness with a cheery hum, gently swaying his stem.

She smiled at his humming. _You've got some Pikmin in there after all, don't you?_ Her smile fell as she started to take in his handprints. Seeing her rounded fingertips next to his only accentuated the sharpness of his claws, and the more she looked at the color, the more she began to associate it with something else.

As if sensing her discomfort, Brambles stopped swaying and tilted his head, his eyes full of… was that concern?

Right now, he really did look just like any other Pikmin. _But it's so hard to call him that._ What stood in front of her face now went to war with what she already knew and experienced. "Can I trust you?" she blurted out.

He only blinked at her.

She met his gaze, staring deeply into his eyes. They glowed in the low light.

The two remained like that for awhile, neither one moving nor speaking. She didn't startle when Brambles finally did move, spreading his arms out in a wide stretch. He padded closer to her and laid down near her feet, folding his arms under his head. His breathing slowed to a steady rhythm.

Brittany pressed her back to the wooden instrument and slid down next to him. _Maybe I can trust you if you're willing to follow me out of your forest and out into the daylight._ But she didn't know if she could say the same about the other thorn Pikmin. And sooner or later, she would have to face them again.

The thought made her queasy.

Luckily, that particular worry was far away from her now, locked inside Olimar's rattly old ship. She looked out to the blue sky, reassured by the comfort of an open space, then leaned back and closed her eyes.

Brambles shuffled closer to her in his sleep. She didn't pull away.

* * *

The glow of Leader Charlie's antenna faded into the metal tunnel, and Dandelion found herself alone. Alone with Leader Brittany and that bully of a Pikmin. She brought her stem down and fiddled with her golden petals. Why would he leave her with them? Before he left, he spoke to her as if he had some special task for her, but his words made no sense. There was only one she was beginning to recognize: Felicity. She had no clue what it meant. Was it his way of referring to her?

Some chatter went on behind her. The thorn was mumbling to Brittany about 'wanting to play.' Dandelion looked on, hoping the pink leader would scold him for goofing off and show her what it was they were supposed to be doing. Instead, Brittany actually complied with the thorn's wishes. Maybe they were just supposed to wait for Leader Charlie's return.

To pass the time, Dandelion made a slow circuit of the cave, careful to keep her distance from the thorn. The less attention she drew from him the better. The very thought of him made her try to pat down the ruffled patch of fur his attack had caused.

A wisp of dirt fell right before her face, prompting her to look up. A fat, orange and yellow caterpillar wriggled through the tangle of roots, passing another of its kin who hung upside down from its tail end. Curious, Dandelion crawled up a smooth wooden log to get a better view. There were tons of them up there! Aside from the one, they all hung motionless, most taking on a white coloration to blend in with the roots. She backed up, trying to find each and every single one. Perhaps they were what she was supposed to look for?

When she took one more step back, her foot slipped against the rounded edge of the log, and she barely had time to squeak as she tumbled down. Embarrassed, she turned to see if anyone had noticed her clumsy fall, only to startle when she found Brittany sleeping next to her. The ground shuffled under her and, with dreadful realization, she leapt back on to the log.

Of all the things to land on, of course it had to have been that bully.

The thorny Pikmin hopped to his feet and spun around, fury written plain on his face. His eyes flickered like green fire as they settled on her and he jumped up beside her, blocking her path to the sleeping leader. Dandelion's attempt to call out to her was silenced as a clawed hand came down on her.

She jerked away, the blow grazing the tips of her fur. He aimed another swipe at her with his other hand, and, now prepared, she stepped back to avoid it. The only thing that grazed her fur this time was the wind.

Frustrated, he threw himself at her. Dandelion daintily hopped away, leaving only the wood for him to sink his claws into.

Of course. Thorn or not, a leaf could never keep up with a flower!

Her fear began to ebb away into annoyance. What was his problem? She never did anything to him! As the thorn righted himself, she readied her stem and smacked him right between the eyes.

He yelped and clutched at his forehead in shock. He stared at her, unsure what to do. Soon, the anger seeped back into his features and he began his assault anew.

Dandelion bid her time until she found an opening in between his frantic swipes and delivered another smack to his head. She took another step back to put some distance between them. Her foot met with empty air.

The thorn staggered, visibly growing dizzy. His face lit up with inspiration and, as if finally remembering that he, too, had a stem, reared back.

With no where left to go, she dove off the log to evade his attack.

He stumbled forward, carried by the momentum of his swing. The tip of his foot met with the end of the log and, with a shrill of surprise, he waved his hands out in front of him to stop himself from falling over.

Seizing her chance, she hopped up behind him and delivered a mighty blow to his back, knocking him clean off the log and to the ground with a loud thump. Dandelion stood tall with her hands on her hips, proud that she had beat the bully. Behind her, she heard Brittany jolt awake from the noise. She ignored the leader's distressed calls as the thorn got to his feet, tensing as she saw him ready his claws once more.

Before either could move, an orange blur fell between them. Scared by the new intruder and high on adrenaline, the two forgot about the other and attacked it.

Its scream was deafening.

* * *

The winged Pikmin lay deathly still on the checked blanket, the shallow rising and falling of its chest the only indication it was even still alive. Olimar knelt down beside it and placed a hand to its forehead. While he didn't know if Pikmin experienced similar symptoms to Hocotatians when sick, its skin hot underneath his glove told him enough. "I think we can safely assume its sickness is a result of its petrified wing."

Alph watched on, wringing his hands together. "Can we save it?"

"The Pikmin? Maybe." For Alph's sake, he withheld his doubts. "As for the wing itself… Even if we were able to somehow scrape the stone layer off, it would still be too damaged to use. I believe our best option would be to remove it altogether."

"So it'll never fly again."

Olimar shook his head.

"This is my fault… I should have known there was something wrong with its wing. Otherwise, it would have flown away the first time it saw me."

"Don't feel guilty. You didn't know what was going on. Besides, the wing may have already been beyond saving. If blood flow is cut off from a limb for too long, the limb eventually dies. Judging by its condition, this Pikmin has been like this for awhile."

Alph stared down at his feet, still clearly troubled.

"Hopefully it stays asleep until we can get it back to the ship," Olimar continued, taking a guess at what was wrong. "It may be suffering from delirium as a result of its fever. It could be why it failed to recognize that you weren't a threat."

Alph didn't say anything. Instead, he scooped up the Pikmin in his arms, holding it as if it were something precious.

_No, something else is bothering him…_ But if Alph didn't want to talk about it, there wasn't much he could do. Olimar left him alone to rally the fluff Pikmin. They kept their distance from the sick Pikmin, not wanting to catch whatever ailment it had. At his beckoning, they came to him. The elder Pikmin kept up easily with the group, pleased with the wooden cane Olimar had broken down for it. Not an ounce thankful, but pleased. _We'd better set off and see how the others fared._

A terrible, scratchy shriek echoed through the valley, stopping as abruptly as it started.

_That sounded like a whiskerpillar._ Olimar glanced around, wondering where it had come from. He noticed Alph, pale as a sheet, staring at something behind him. Shaking, he shifted the Pikmin into one arm and pointed with the other.

When he saw what caught Alph's attention, Olimar went pale, too.

The purple petals on the flower were rising, their true owner not the plant, but an orange insect. The purple pools in its wings swished about in a manner similar to a liquid. With a mighty flap it took to the air, a cloud of sparkling dust falling from its wings and settling on the flower.

The yellow petals began to turn gray.

From its gray throne, the insect it looked down on them as if they were nothing more than bugs themselves, standing before a monarch. A word came to Olimar's head: imperial.

He grabbed Alph by the arm, snapping him out of his daze. "Quick! Get back to the ruins!"

The imperial spectralid had already taken flight, its mighty shadow falling over them as it passed. With dawning horror, Olimar realized where its true destination was and turned to follow it, Alph right on his heels.

The imperial spectralid - no, _whiskerfly_ was heading straight for the cave Charlie and Brittany were in.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I've been totally forgetting to add these, so time to get caught up on our stats and the treasures we've found. There will be bonus piklopedia chapters with entries detailing enemies and treasures and such.
> 
> Current Pikmin count: 20 fluffs, 25 thorns, 1 wing
> 
> Treasures:  
> Rubicund Root (Radish) Value: 35 pokos  
> Champion of Games (Mario amiibo) Value: 5000 pokos  
> Green Guy (Luigi amiibo) Value: 2 pokos  
> Conflict Cookie (Chocolate macaroon) Value: 30 pokos
> 
> Fruit:  
> Midnight Pearl (blueberry)


End file.
